KUCHING: Committee members of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Batang Sadong Branch strongly opposed the appointment of Jamilah Baharuddin as Parliamentary Coordinator in Batang Sadong as she is not from the area.
They emphasised that her appointment should not have happened as it undermined the capabilities of the people in Batang Sadong who would better understand the local sentiments.
“The appointment of Jamilah, who is not from Batang Sadong, has denied the opportunity for qualified people from here to showcase their abilities,” the committee members said in a statement yesterday.
They said that they would accept appointments from any Pakatan Harapan’s affiliates in Batang Sadong, as long as the coordinator was from the area and not an outsider.
They noted that Jamilah was a member of PKR Petrajaya Branch and its Angkatan Muda Keadilan deputy chief.
“Very strange; a member of another branch can be appointed to represent the federal government in our constituency,” said the PKR Batang Sadong Branch committee members.
They said that since the committee’s first branch meeting in October 2018 and also in their branch annual general meeting (AGM), it was proposed that PKR Batang Sadong Branch head Piee Ling be appointed its Parliamentary Coordinator.
Jamilah’s appointment, they said, had never been referred to the branch head or committee.
“It is understood that the nomination was made by stakeholders (pihak berkepentingan) who wanted to raise Jamilah’s merit as a potential candidate for Simunjan in the upcoming state election. This clearly shows an abuse of power,” they said.
According to the PKR Batang Sadong Branch committee members, there were also elements of cronyism and nepotism in the appointment due to a connection between the Batang Sadong Parliamentary Coordinator and Petrajaya Parliamentary Coordinator with the deputy chairman of Sarawak State Leadership Council (MPN).
“A child and a sibling of the deputy chairman of MPN Sarawak. He was also present to witness them receiving appointment letters from Baru Bian (Sarawak State Development Action Council chairman and PKR Sarawak MPN chairman),” they said.
“Jamilah should be replaced by a candidate from Batang Sadong,” they stressed.
