QUIT RUMOURS GREATLY EXAGGERATED

By: TERENCE NETTO

Rumours of Jeffrey Kitingan's imminent departure from PKR are greatly exaggerated. So said the former vice-president of the party and its strategic director for Sabah and Sarawak in a telephone conversation from Kota Kinabalu this afternoon.

"I'll not be saying anything about the party (PKR) at tomorrow's press conference," said Jeffrey.

"I'll only focus on matters that have always been close to my heart – a review of the 20 points agreement by which Sabah joined the federation, the issue of Borneonisation, and the mechanism by which to implement reforms," said Jeffrey.

The media have today reported news of Jeffrey's imminent resignation from PKR.

"The issues I'm always been concerned with transcend mere party affiliation. No peninsula-based party is interested in my agenda. They may be interested in parts of it but not the whole of it," Jeffrey explained.

“Thus the matter of my joining or quitting a party does not arise. I'm thinking of generating a movement, both here and in Sarawak, to back the issues I concerned with have a national hearing and national resolution,” he elaborated.

Close aide quit last month

Rumours have been rife for the better part of a month that Jeffrey would end his two-month leave from political matters on Dec 16 with an announcement of his resignation from PKR.

The rumours received a fillip when Jeffrey declined to defend his vice-president's post in the PKR elections last month despite obtaining an impressive 40 nominations.

They were fortified when his adversary, Ansari Abdullah, was nominated as PKR candidate in the Batu Sapi by-election, also held last month. Jeffrey did not make a single appearance in the campaign.

When Jeffrey's close aide, Phillip Among, quit PKR in recent weeks, the rumours mills churned with added vigor that a similar move was forthcoming from the Sabah leader when he ends his sabbatical tomorrow.

But from what Jeffrey said on the phone from Kota Kinabalu, he appears to on a mission to raise issues which transcend party politics.