PKR has accepted former Sabah Umno strongman Salleh Said Keruak’s membership application and will make an announcement “very soon”, said party sources.

They said it could come as early as tomorrow, when party president Anwar Ibrahim officiates at the Sabah PKR congress in Kota Kinabalu.

“The PKR political bureau on Friday (October 18) agreed to accept Salleh’s application. The only thing pending is the announcement,” said a source close to the party leadership.

“We are most probably looking at the Sabah PKR congress on October 28.”

Another source, who is close to Salleh, confirmed that the former communications and multimedia minister’s application has been accepted by PKR.

“PKR has accepted his membership. We are just waiting for the official announcement.”

This development follows Anwar’s remarks yesterday that the party has yet to decide on Salleh’s bid to join.

The president, however, admitted that PKR has discussed the matter.

“We have not yet decided, but we’ve held discussions on it. We will always refer to local divisions for their approval.”

Salleh, who used to be a loyalist of former prime minister Najib Razak, applied online to join PKR in August.

He failed to retain his Kota Belud parliamentary seat in the general election in May last year, and quit Umno in December.

Last Friday, Sabah PKR chairman Christina Liew said Salleh would be welcomed should he forgo his “Umno principles”.

“We welcome anyone who wants to join the party, so long as they are sincere about wanting to fight for justice, equality and reform, which are the principles of Reformasi.

“This is not an issue of whether we (Sabah PKR) are willing to accept, or reject. It depends on whether he or she is sincere about continuing the struggle that we have fought for over the last 21 years.”

Salleh, who is also former Sabah chief minister, had said he wanted to join PKR as the multiracial party shared his perspective and reflected well the political atmosphere in the state.

He also expressed his desire to help PKR bring back progressive politics, with stability and moderation as the main priorities. – October 27, 2019.