KUCHING (March 6): Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak has set up a Council of Elders (COE) comprising senior party leaders following its first state committee meeting after the departure of Julau MP Larry Sng on Feb 28.
State PKR information chief Abun Sui Anyit said the COE, which had been approved by the national-level leadership, will lead PKR Sarawak into the 12th state election.
“The COE will be chaired by the state PKR deputy chairman and is responsible for making decisions in a collective and accountable manner on behalf of the state PKR committee,” he said in a statement dated Mar 5.
Abun said PKR Sarawak’s preparation for the next state polls was good and satisfactory despite Sng’s resignation.
He pointed out that the COE would also represent PKR Sarawak in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak central committee comprising leaders from two other component parties; namely the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
“The meeting today was also attended by president who informed us of the current development in the country.
“The president also reiterated the party’s stand that PKR Sarawak is indeed given the autonomy to make its own decisions without interference from the national leadership in line with the Malaysia Agreement1963 as stipulated in the PKR party constitution,” he added.
Sng won the Julau seat in the 2018 general elections as an independent and after stepping down as the state PKR chief, he has declared himself as a “government-friendly” independent.
He took over as PKR Sarawak chairman after Selangau MP Baru Bian was sacked by PKR last year.