Sarawak Parti Keadilan Rakyat acting chairman Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh (centre) at a press conference at the state party headquarters in Kuching December 2, 2021. — Bernama pic
KUCHING, April 12 — Sarawak PKR acting chairman Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh today explained he decided against contesting the PKR vice-presidency as he knows full well that candidates from Sarawak will not be able to garner the required votes from party members.
He said none of the 18 confirmed candidates going for the vice-presidency are from Sarawak and Sabah.
“You know why? The candidates from Sarawak and Sabah have never won the vice-presidency in the past party elections because the bulk of the members are Malaya.
“What we do, after the election, is to request our party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to appoint a vice president for Sarawak and Sabah,” he said when asked why he did not want to contest for one of the four vice-presidents of the party.
He said appointing a vice-president for Sarawak and Sabah has been done in the past without any problem.
Abang Zulkifli, however, said he is the sole candidate from Sarawak to vie for a seat in the central executive committee.
He said he has asked Baram PKR branch chief Roland Engan to also seek a seat in the committee, but the latter declined due to fears that he will not be able to garner enough votes.
Leading the list of candidates for the vice-presidency are Selangor mentri besar and state PKR chairman Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and Negri Sembilan menteri besar and state PKR chairman Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun and PKR information chief Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin.
Others who have offered themselves for the vice-presidency include incumbent Chang Lih Kang, PKR communications director and Lembah Pantai MP Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil, Wanita PKR chief and Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh, PKR chief organising secretary and Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and former Perak PKR chief Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak.
Also in the fray are former Perak PKR deputy chairman MA Tinagaran, Kapar MP Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, Alor Setar MP Chan Ming Kai, former Kapar MP G Manivannan and Sentosa assemblyman G Gunaraj.
Five other candidates who have submitted their nomination forms are Terengganu PKR chairman Azan Ismail, former vice-president Mustaffa Kamil Ayub, former vice-head of PKR Youth (AMK) S. Thiban, Chuah assemblyman Datuk Michael Yek Diew Ching and Bukit Selambau assemblyman R. Summugam.
Among the incumbent vice-presidents, Tian Chua announced on March 27 that he would not be defending his post, Rafizi Ramli has offered himself for the deputy president’s post and Nurul Izzah Anwar resigned from the post in 2018.