KOTA KINABALU: Veteran politician Datuk John Ghani has quit PKR, after losing faith in the party's leadership.
The two-term Kuala Penyu assemblyman said he was unhappy with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) involving Pakatan Harapan (PH) last year.
John, who has been with PKR since 2004, also opined that Anwar has caused Sabah PKR to be further split by appointing Datuk Dr Sangkar Rasam as the new Sabah state leadership council (MPN) chairman replacing Datuk Christina Liew.
"The reason for my resignation is that I'm not happy, and I have lost faith in the party leadership because Anwar signed the MOU with the government.
"Never in history has a strong party that can take over the government signed an MoU with the government. When we sign an MOU with the government, it means we are part of the government. So, (it was done so that the) problems of the government's will no longer be problems, right?
"That's why I'm not happy, Anwar should explain this matter so that people are not confused.
"We lost badly in three by-elections - Melaka, Johor and Sarawak. That's the effect of signing the MOU with the government. There is no benefit at all, it even harms the party," he said at a press conference today when announcing his departure from PKR effective July 25.
John also resigned from his post as MPN vice-chairman and advisor for Beaufort PKR division.
For the second reason, John said, it's the wrong time to oust Liew and replace her with Sangkar, the Keningau division chief.
He claimed Sabah has two teams - Liew versus Sangkar and his nephew Raymond Ahuar.
"There has always been a split and Anwar is aware of this problem. When he came to Sabah recently, I was hoping he could solve the problem, but instead, he dropped Liew and replaced her with Sangkar.
"How can you replace Liew who has been in the party for 20 years and is very loyal to the party? She is the Tawau member of parliament and the Api-Api assemblyman.
"As a president, he can change the leader, but this is wrong timing. It's not suitable because the 15th General Election is just around the corner. He should unite and strengthen the party, but now he has further split the party. That's why I'm not happy.
"I have no choice, I can't keep quiet. I had to resign because I have lost confidence in the leadership," he added.
Asked whether the new appointment would affect Sabah PKR, John said it could cause Sabah PKR to lose Tawau and Putatan seats.
He opined that the idea of Sangkar's appointment may be to attract support from the Kadazandusun community, but such a thing is not easy.
When asked whether Anwar was the cause of PKR's weaknesses, John said: "For me, yes."
John started his political career with USNO and has been in politics for 49 years since 1973.
