The nomination of Christina Liew instead of Mustapha Sakmud is seen as posing a threat to the state party’s leadership, and alienating Mustapha’s supporters.
00:00Sabah PKR appeared to have undermined its new chief, Mustafa Sakmud, by nominating Kristina Liu instead in the election for the Sabah Pakatan Harapan chairman's post earlier this month, says a political analyst.
00:14Speaking to FMT, Biljur Bala of University Malaysia Sabah said nominating Liu instead of Mustafa might cause internal discord and distance Mustafa's supporters.
00:25Bala expressed concern that the preference for Liu suggested a lack of respect for recent leadership changes within Sabah PKR, potentially leading to internal strife and impacting the coalition's governance capabilities with upcoming state assembly elections.
00:39Liu was narrowly defeated by UPCO President Iwan Benedict for the chairman post she held since 2017.
00:46Mustafa had become the Sabah PKR chief in May, taking over from Sangkar Rasam after Rasam was pressed to resign by 15 of 26 PKR division chiefs, including Liu.
00:56Meanwhile, Hisomudin Bakar of Ilham Centre commented on Liu's defeat, viewing it as indicative of a broader loss of confidence in her leadership, evidence in the divisions within coalition partners during her tenure.
01:09Hisomudin recommended a leadership change and a new strategy for the coalition to better contend with local political dynamics in future elections.
