Dear Editor,
I WOULD like to present my
arguments, in this open letter to PKR's de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim, for the rationales in choosing Hj Ansari Abdullah to contest for the
P170 Tuaran parliamentary constituency.
Dear Datuk Seri,
I would like to seriously
appeal for your kind and serious consideration for Hj Ansari's and his group
for candidacy in their respective areas as you had promised.
Such a serious consideration
is justified knowing you had also given serious consideration to your own
constituents in Permatang Pauh who had appealed for you to recontest in that
constituency and not move to Perak.
The case for the seven
proposed candidates is also based on grassroot demand and support, not
different from the demand and support from the Permatang Pauh supporters. There
cannot be two different criteria or sets of decisions if we wish to show our
fairness and sense of justice.
We also must avoid the
possibility of being accused of having a different considerations for Peninsula
cases compared to what is done for PKR Sabah.
I believe if the seven
candidates are rejected, the serious moral damage will happen in Sabah PKR, and
evidenced by the many uproar and great disappoint now happening on the ground.
We also need to speed up the
announcement of the Sabah candidates because the nomination is only a few days
away. We need to make the urgent preparations, especially the printing of
election posters. Anymore delay will cause a lot of confusion and the hectic
scramble and rush prior to the nomination day will be very costly to us.
To all of us Hj Ansari holds
a record of being a party loyalist who has proven to be very hard working in
strengthening the party support,
especially in P170 Tuaran.
Using his own resources of
time, energy and money, he had traversed the area way even into the most remote
kampungs, including those not accessable by road, promoting the party struggle
and ideology.
He had garnered a lot of new
support and attracted the entry of credible new leaders from BN parties. He
knows the constituency like the back of his hands, having served it for many,
many years.
He had even implemented the
party's free medical service program for the remote villages in P170 Tuaran
(covering Kiulu, Tamparuli and Sulaman), under which free medicines and medical
checks by qualified doctors are given - all with his own money.
Villagers even enjoyed high
quality medicines which are not found in hospitals and pharmacies in Sabah!
Having performed well and endeared himself to the electorates, we salute him
for his sincerity and sacrifices, and he is without any reservation, our
division's choice as PKR's most winnable candidate in Tuaran, with no
competition.
In comparison, I regret to
point out that Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred has been tested as a member of
parliament and has a lot of critics on matters of performance and track
records, not to forget the issue of frogging.
Hj Ansari will not have this problem, and our campaign
will not be wasted on explaining and defending people's criticism and anger for
unfulfilled development promised.
It is also undeniable that
his electoral performance has improved, increasing his votes in P170 Tuaran
from 8,855 in 2004 to 11,023 in 2008. In 2004 his number of votes was the
highest among the PKR candidates in Sabah, and in 2008 his vote count was the
second highest after PKR Kota Belud's votes.
I can give a lot of other
reasons why Ansari is a much better choice than Datuk Wilfred, but most
importantly, it must be noted that Datuk Wilfred won the area in 2008 because
of votes from BN members and supporters from PBS, Upko and Umno.
Now that he had jumped to
the opposition he will no longer get these votes, and he will have to depend on
the support of only the APS and PKR members in Tuaran.
But now that the PKR Tuaran
division is a mood to revolt and is threatening to boycott him should he be
made the candidate, his line of support will be very, very thin indeed, and
this will definitely give a lot of advantages to the BN candidate. PKR is in
real danger of losing P170 Tuaran if it decides to drop Hj. Ansari from the
candidates list.
Also, PKR being a party
fighting for justice and fairness, must remember that the party Constitution
provides that a party candidate must first be a party member. How do we then
justify our principle if we choose a non-member like Datuk Wilfred to be a
party candidate? It will set a dangerous precedence with no justification and
will mar the party's image and integrity.
Best Regards,
RICHARD LIBUN ADOU
PKR Tuaran division member
Former Vice President,
Kadazandusun Cultrual Association (KDCA)
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