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PKR vice president says Sabah, Sarawak chapters backing Anwar to be PM

PKR vice president Dr Michael Teo says Sabah and Sarawak chapters chapters’ decision to endorse Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as for prime minister is consistent with the position of the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council. — Picture by Miera Zulyana
PKR vice president Dr Michael Teo says Sabah and Sarawak chapters chapters’ decision to endorse Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as for prime minister is consistent with the position of the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 ― PKR vice president Dr Michael Teo said that Sabah and Sarawak chapters of the party have decided to endorse Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the Opposition’s candidate for prime minister.

The Miri MP said the two state chapters’ decision was consistent with the position of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Presidential Council.

“This is in line with the decision made by Pakatan Harapan (PH) Presidential Council that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is the candidate for prime minister, the new Pakatan Harapan chairman and the new Opposition Leader in the House of Representatives on May 7, 2020,” he said in a statement here today.

“Keadilan Borneo continues to stand firm with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in upholding and continuing Pakatan Harapan’s reform agenda while we march towards the 15th General Election together,” he said.

His statement comes after an impasse stemming from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s proposal of Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal as the Opposition’s prime minister candidate.

In Sabah, vice chairman Kenny Chua also said he backed Anwar, adding that PH had promised Malaysians that Anwar would be prime minister.

“This is my personal opinion about this matter. I fully respect Shafie as our chief minister. But as a party man, my loyalty is for my president who, in the minds of the rakyat who voted for us against Umno and the Barisan Nasional in the last general election, was promised to be the next prime minister.

“A promise is a promise and we must honour it. How would the rakyat judge us if we don’t deliver what we have promised? I do believe that they expect us to be leaders with the highest integrity and honesty. They expect us to be men and women who are always true to our words,” he said.

PH has been locked in a stalemate over its prime ministerial candidate between Anwar and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad until the latter announced last Saturday his withdrawal from the race in favour of Shafie.

Dr Mahathir claimed Shafie’s nomination was a collective decision with leaders from DAP, Amanah, and Parti Warisan Sabah during an informal meeting at the Ruman Tetamu Sabah here on June 25.

DAP and Amanah leaders later clarified that Shafie’s nomination was not final but must still go through their respective parties’ top central committee and the PH presidential council.

Sabah PKR chief Datuk Christina Liew, a staunch Shafie ally, said two days ago that the party has always supported Anwar as prime minister but the Sabah branch would also like to see the country’s first East Malaysian PM.

“The first-ever historical candidate for prime minister in the person of Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie came as a surprise. As Sabahans, we welcome the proposal to nominate a Sabahan as PM.

“After more than half a century of independence, we are glad to see light at the end of the tunnel,” she said on Tuesday.

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