SABAH PKR chief Christina Liew has played down talk that an Anwar Ibrahim-Azmin Ali proxy fight was brewing in the state as members gear up to decide the party’s leadership next month. 

She also dismissed chatter that members seeking to outdo each other for party posts was a sign of internal friction. 

“This is strange… it appears in the news as if if there are two camps in PKR. 

“If a party holds an election and individuals challenge each other for posts, does this mean that there are camps? This is unfair,” Liew said as Sabah PKR members filed their nomination papers in Likas today. 

The Malaysian Insight was told by party insiders that there were two camps in PKR – one supporting deputy president Azmin Ali and one behind de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to lead the party. 

A party source said those supporting Anwar were loyalists of president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.  

“The existing leadership in Sabah supports Anwar as president, and those who support Azmin in the state have been sidelined. 

“This can be seen in the case of former Inanam assemblyman Roland Chia, who was replaced by Kenny Chua, who is also PKR Penampang chief, as Inanam’s 14 general election candidate.  

“Chia, who is also the PKR Sepanggar chief, is said to be an Azmin man, and has been in disagreement with Liew all this years,” said the source. 

The source also said this was why Chia had gone under the radar even before Liew was named Sabah Pakatan Harapan chairman.  

Liew previously announced Sabah PKR’s stand in supporting Anwar as the next president, saying he had the support of 22 out of 25 divisional chiefs. 

PKR members will decide on the party’s leadership on September 22. 

“We in Sabah support Anwar as president… we never said anything about the deputy,” Liew said.

“I did, however, receive queries from members on Azmin and vice-president Rafizi Ramli to be deputy president, but i told them you are free to vote for anyone as it is part of the democratic process,” she said. 

According to Liew, all 26 divisions will have at least two persons contesting as divisional chiefs, saying the highest at present was a nine-cornered fight in a district in Sabah’s east coast. 

Liew herself will defend her Api Api seat, and will face Kota Kinabalu native Gan Chok Ping. 

“I think all the seats PKR won in the recent election are the hot seats,” she said. 

Even Chia will have a tought time defending his division, where he will face four other contenders in the upcoming party election. 

His contenders include Ramlan Naim from Likas, and activist Nani Sakam. – August 4, 2018.