PKR Sarawak will be administered by a Council of Elders following the resignation and defection of its former chairman Larry Sng, the party said today.

The opposition party’s state leadership council in a meeting today decided on the council as an interim measure to fill in the leadership gap in the run up to the state election, its information chief Abun Sui Anyit said in a statement.

Anyit said the decision was by “consensus” and the council will be made up of senior leaders and chaired by PKR Sarawak deputy chairman Abang Dzulkifli Abang Engkeh.

Abang Dzulkifli was formerly the press secretary to former chairman and works minister Baru Bian.

Anyit did not state the number of members the council will have.

He said the decision to form the council also had the blessing of the party president Anwar Ibrahim.

Sng, who is also the Julau MP, resigned from the party on February 28 and expressed his support for Perikatan Nasional led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

In a posting on his Facebook to explain why he left the party, Sng said he had been “unable to serve Julau effectively as there was a lack of much needed development funds”.

The constituency, he added, is the poorest in the country and “people are suffering because of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Sng said with his defection, he is confident he would be able to deliver his election promises to his electorate as a government-friendly independent. – March 6, 2021.