KOTA KINABALU – Despite being found guilty of falsifying documents today, former Sabah minister Datuk Peter Anthony will continue to lead his fledgling Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM).
Party vice-president Martin Tommy told The Vibes that KDM remains intact and Peter is appealing the verdict.
“KDM’s political struggles will continue as usual. All I can say is that the party will remain intact. The party leader was already facing charges in court when the party was formed and a court verdict was anticipated by party members.”
Peter was found guilty by the Kuala Lumpur sessions court of falsifying documents of a maintenance job from the office of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s vice-chancellor.
He was sentenced to three years’ jail and a fine of RM50,000 by the court.
Martin said Peter will remain as Melalap assemblyman and party president until he has exhausted all legal means in his case.
Meanwhile, political analyst Lee Kuok Tiung said any assemblymen found guilty of a crime and imposed a fine of more than RM2,000 will be disqualified as an elected representative.
“It is still a long way to go for Peter. There’s still avenues for him to challenge the guilty verdict in the higher courts.”
However, things will sour for KDM if the courts uphold the guilty verdict, he added.
For one, it is not impossible for the party to lose voter support, especially in Tenom and Keningau, and possibly lose the opportunity to join the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition.
“I expect Peter will exercise his legal rights and appeal to his case. It is not impossible for the case to not end until after the general election.”
Peter left Warisan late December and announced that he would be a GRS ally.
He won the Melalap state seat under the Warisan ticket in the 2020 state election.
His KDM number two, Datuk Juil Nuatim, who is also the Limbahau assemblyman, left Warisan with him.
Both went on to form KDM and registered with the Registrar of Societies on February 21. – The Vibes, May 26, 2022
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