KOTA KINABALU – Datuk Peter Anthony says he will not be silenced by the forgery conviction against him, insisting that he will continue to expand his newly formed Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) party.
The embattled politician arrived here today a day after he was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to three years in jail and fined RM50,000 by the sessions court in Kuala Lumpur.
He said he will embark on a “jelajah” (tour) across Sabah to expand his party.
“I will not be silenced or be stopped from my plans to travel to all the parts of Sabah to be with the people.
“I respect the court’s decision, but I will continue to fight it to prove my innocence. For me, this development will instead boost my drive to continue to fight the people and strengthen Sabah’s position,” he said when arriving at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport to around 50 strong supporters around 11.40am today.
Anthony said he still can challenge the court decision at the appeal and federal courts, saying he is still KDM’s president.
“Let the people see for themselves what’s going on. Is this robbery, stealing money, corruption, or did the government or Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) lose any money? No,” he said.
The Melalap assemblyman does not need not to serve his sentence pending his appeal.
His jail time was ordered to run from yesterday, but his lawyer has applied for a stay of execution pending his appeal to the high court.
Sessions judge Azura Alwi nevertheless ordered for the fine to be paid on the day itself.
Anthony said KDM has nothing to fear as he had done nothing wrong.
Anthony was convicted for forging a letter from the office of the UMS deputy vice-chancellor dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement with the intention of using it for fraudulent purposes.
He was the managing director of Syarikat Asli Jati Sdn Bhd.
The former vice-president of Parti Warisan was accused of committing the offence at the office of the principal private secretary to the prime minister at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and Aug 21, 2014. – The Vibes, May 27, 2022
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