Sunday 10 November 2013

By Admin

KOTA KINABALU: Matunggong assemblyman Datuk Jelani Hamdan (photo) on Friday announced his resignation as Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) State Leadership Council (MPN) vice-chairman I, with immediate effect.

Jelani said he took the moral decision of quitting the post as he was dissatisfied with the way the Sabah PKR top leadership line-up, with Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin as the chairman, was appointed.

“With this, I officially announce my resignation as vice-chairman I of the Sabah PKR Majlis Pimpinan Negeri (MPN). This position was offered to me by Datuk Lajim, the MPN chairman who was appointed by the party’s central leadership.

“If we look at the new scenario in Sabah PKR, I cannot work with the leadership, in particular with the new Sabah MPN chairman, Datuk Lajim himself,” he told reporters, here.

Jelani said his dissatisfaction and that of some friends in PKR started during the process of appointing the opposition leader in the Sabah state assembly and the appointment of the Sabah MPN chairman which were made without consensus.

Based on these latest developments and the MPN leadership line-up, he felt the Kadazandusun Murut (KDM) community in Sabah PKR was not being treated accordingly in terms of leadership position.

Jelani said he did not object to PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appointing Lajim as the Sabah PKR MPN chairman but was unhappy when his request for a leader from the KDM community, particularly from the Rungus ethnic group, be appointed as MPN deputy chairman was ignored although the assemblymen from the KDM community were the majority in Sabah PKR.

He said he had applied to join PKR on July 7, 2010 as he was attracted to the Buku Jingga (Orange Book) and the Kuching Declaration, and also believed then that he could play a role with PKR in fighting for Sabah’s rights.

But based on the current scenario, he said, not only were the Buku Jingga and Kuching Declaration not followed, even fairness in PKR itself was questionable.

On his membership in PKR, Jelani said he was unsure whether he was a member or not because since applying to join PKR in 2010, he had never received any membership confirmation or acceptance letter until today.

On his position as Matunggong assemblyman, Jelani said at the moment he had not decided whether to support the government or not, but stressed that his decision to resign from the MPN post was made on his own accord and had nothing to do with any quarters, including Barisan Nasional (BN).

In the 13th General Election in May, Jelani won the Matunggong state seat with a 320-vote majority when he obtained 6,947 votes compared to 6,627 received by his closest challenger, Sarapin Magana from BN. BI