Nelson W Angang
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 21): There is no issue in the election of United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (UPKO) president Datuk Ewon Benedick as the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sabah chairman.
This is because in the recent General Meeting or AGM of PH Sabah, each component chairman, leaders together with their respective delegates were present and participated in the democratic process in electing the new PH Sabah chairman, said Datuk Nelson W Angang, secretary of the PH Sabah Leadership Council.
“I am confident that every PH Sabah component member understands and respects the election process that was held recently. Because this is not the first time that PH Sabah has held an AGM and elected a PH Sabah chairman.
“In every previous AGM, all component members respected the process that was carried out including electing the previous chairman,” Angang said in a statement today.
This, he pointed out, is the uniqueness of PH Sabah, that they are given autonomy to decide on the leadership of the PH Sabah Leadership Council.
“That is why I am confident that there is no interference from any central PH leader on the decision of the recent PH Sabah General Meeting,” he added.
According to Angang, the position of PH Sabah chairman or chairman of the Leadership Council of any state for PH in Malaysia is not a position that is reserved for any particular component party in the coalition.
That is why the PH constitution provides for the chairman for each state to be elected every time the AGM is held, he explained.
“This time, the PH Sabah leadership has gone through a democratic process to elect Datuk Ewon Benedick and the process will also be repeated at the next AGM,” he said.
Angang added that it is also certain that in the next AGM, the PH Sabah leadership council will discuss again and decide whether to retain or elect a new chairman from among the other component parties such as Amanah, DAP or PKR.
He stressed that every PH member and leader understands this matter and respects the PH Constitution.
“I am certain the cooperation, understanding and maturity in every discussion and decisions made amongst the PH Sabah leaders over the years will continue in ensuring that the coalition remains united and strong,” Angang said.
Yesterday, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah political bureau chief Datuk Seri Christina Liew disclosed that there could a change of the Sabah PH leadership.
Liew, who lost by three votes to Ewon, said discussions are ongoing over the matter.
“Last weekend when we were in Kuala Lumpur, we already discussed with our president and we also had discussions among our State Leadership Council political bureau,” she told reporters at an MPN Sabah Madani dinner at Hyatt Regency here on Thursday.
Liew, who was the Sabah PH chairwoman for seven years since 2017, was asked to comment on speculations that Ewon’s appointment should have gone to PKR Sabah according to its given quota.
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