KOTA KINABALU:Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to deliver a message to the Sabah PKR leadership following the appointment of the new chairman of the Sabah State Leadership Council (MPN).
The new MPN Chairman, Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said the PKR President, who arrived in Sabah last night to officiate the closing ceremony of the Kaamatan Festival in Penampang today, is scheduled to meet with state PKR leaders this morning.
"Tomorrow morning (today), we will begin the MPN meeting with the president, and I believe he will provide us with guidance on how to face the challenges of the upcoming 17th State Election," he said when met upon his arrival from Kuala Lumpur at Tanjung Aru here last night.
Also present was Inanam Assemblyman Peto Galim, who was also newly appointed as the state MPN deputy chairman.
Mustapha, who is also the deputy Higher Education minister, said Anwar's presence in Sabah is also aimed at reuniting Sabah PKR leaders who were previously divided due to the leadership crisis that erupted in March.
The leadership crisis in Sabah PKR arose when 15 branch chiefs from across the state expressed a loss of confidence in the leadership of former MPN chairman Datuk Dr. Sangkar Rasam and called for his resignation.
However, Sangkar left the matter to the president to decide, which eventually led the PKR Central leadership to announce Mustapha's appointment recently.
Meanwhile, Mustapha said Sabah PKR will hold its first convention to discuss preparations for the state election in August.
He said the convention is also expected to decide on the partners or coalitions for Sabah PKR in the election anticipated to be held next year.
"We will hold a party convention specifically for Sabah, where we will invite all branch leaders with approximately 1,000 participants.
"Here, we will outline the preparation timeline and how we will strengthen our machinery at the state level.
"Many central leaders will also come down, and this will kickstart our campaign series. After that, we will move to the branch level to strengthen our machinery there," he said.
Meanwhile, Mustapha said he is confident of re-establishing cooperation among all Sabah PKR branch leaders following the previous leadership crisis.
He stated that he would call all branch leaders, including those who did not support the change in state leadership, to the first MPN meeting he will chair soon as a step towards restoring relationships and cooperation.
Earlier, the Sepanggar member of parliament expressed his gratitude after the episode of the MPN chairman appointment issue was resolved peacefully.
"On behalf of the Sabah PKR leadership, Peto and I would like to thank the president for trusting us to lead Sabah MPN in preparation for the state election, expected next year.
"This is a heavy responsibility that we will carry with full accountability. We will ensure the PKR machinery in Sabah is ready," he said.
