KOTA KINABALU – Controversial politician Datuk Peter Anthony unveiled Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) today – a multi-racial party only for Sabahans.
Anthony, known to have been once a close ally of Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, left the party on December 28. He was one of Warisan’s vice-presidents before his departure.
According to Anthony, KDM, which is also called Prosperity Democratic People’s Party in English, will be officially launched on March 13 here in the state capital.
He said plans are also afoot to be part of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition, which currently rules Sabah.
“Today is the day we have been waiting for where our party has been successfully registered by the protem committee and approved by the Registrar of Societies (RoS),” he said.
“Of course, KDM, our small party, will apply to join GRS. For us, the most important thing right now is for the political parties to be cooperative with each other.
“The only way for Sabah to realise all the state rights is via having a united political front. It is the same with getting more development for Sabah,” he said when met at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport today.
Anthony had just arrived here from Kuala Lumpur after successfully having registered KDM with the RoS on February 18.
He noted that amendments to include the Malaysia Agreement 1963 terms in the federal constitution have been made in Parliament and now what is left is the implementation of these.
The former Sabah public works minister in the previous Warisan-led Sabah government had left Warisan as he believed the party had gone off-track in its fight for the Sabahan people when it spread its wings to Peninsular Malaysia.
“This party (KDM) is only limited to Sabahan voters. We believe that it is much better for us to focus on the problems in Sabah than focusing on outside issues.
“I believe that in a state like Sarawak, they have a solid party to run the region. The same goes with Penang as they have a political alliance that would be able to propel the state towards progress,” said the Melalap assemblyman.
Anthony also brought along Limbahau assemblyman Datuk Juil Nuatim out of Warisan. Nutaim is named as KDM’s pro tem deputy president.
Incidentally, Anthony is facing charges of forging letters over a maintenance service contract at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. The court decision on his case is expected to be made on March 31. – The Vibes, February 21, 2022
