KOTA MARUDU – Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) president Datuk Peter Anthony is urging all the party’s supporters to be patient and not be too emotional over the rejection of his candidacy in the 15th general election (GE15) during the nomination process on November 5.
The assemblyman for Melalap said that there was still room under the law for a review of the Election Commission’s (EC) decision as the court case was still pending.
“Realising that my candidature was rejected, I noticed that many of my supporters were deeply disappointed while some even shed tears. However, I told them that this was just the beginning as a review of the court’s decision could still be sought,” he said in his speech at an event in Kg Minansad here today.
Last Saturday, Anthony’s candidacy was rejected by the EC at the last minute, resulting in a commotion involving his supporters.
Last May 26, the Kuala Lumpur sessions court sentenced him to three years’ jail and fined him RM50,000 after he was found guilty of falsifying a letter over a maintenance work and mechanical and electrical system service contract with Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
The court had also on August 1 allowed Anthony’s application to set aside the conviction and sentence to enable him to contest in GE15.
Meanwhile, in Kota Kinabalu, the KDM candidate for that parliamentary seat, Datuk Seri Liaw Kit Siong, said the rejection of Anthony as a candidate in GE15 did not break the party members and supporters’ spirits to continue campaigning for victory in the constituency.
“To me, this is not a problem, and it will only raise our spirits as KDM is a new party, so we need to popularise it across the country,” he said today.
Meanwhile, Liaw, who is contesting for the first time in a general election, is determined to wrest the Kota Kinabalu seat, which has been synonymous with DAP, and, if given the chance by voters to capture the seat, he wants to improve Sabah’s economic and tourism sectors.
Liaw is facing a five-cornered contest to wrest the seat from its incumbent MP, Chan Foong Hin who is representing Pakatan Harapan-DAP. The other candidates are Yee Tsai Yiew (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-Parti Bersatu Sabah), Amanda Yeo Yan Yin (Warisan) and independent candidate Marcel Jude Joseph. – Bernama, November 8, 2022
