KOTA KINABALU, June 19 — Several Sabah PKR grassroots leaders announced their resignations from the party following an extended period of strife, particularly against state chief, Datuk Christina Liew.

The group of 10, led by former Special Tasks director Datuk Nani Sakam, said that they were leaving on their own accord without inducement from any party, adding that they estimated some 8,000 supporters would follow them.

“We no longer believe in the state leadership. We have supported her and built her foundation but she has not been looking after us after she got into a position of power,” said Nani.

He said that each leader had his own group of supporters and had discussed the matter with each other, but due to social distancing policies, could not mobilise their people to prevent a mass gathering.

They said that they had not decided on their next political move, but only that it would not necessarily be en masse, as some had their own ideologies.

“We will be partyless, but we do support the government of the day,” he said during a press conference at a local restaurant hall here today.

The press conference was temporarily disrupted by the presence of other party supporters who tried to pose questions to the group and accused them of tarnishing the Putatan PKR division’s reputation.

They said that the press conference made it seem as if the division was not stable, although they were solidly behind Putatan MP Awang Husaini Sahari.

Nani clarified that it was only those named and their supporters who were leaving and said he had spoken to Awang Husaini and explained their stance.

He also said that he, along with a few other leaders, currently had their memberships suspended for organising a press conference last year to talk about their dissatisfaction with the state leadership.

He said that former chairman of the election machinery strategy committee, Datuk Karim Ghani, who had earlier this week spread the news about today’s exodus, did not attend the event due to his age, which places him in the high-risk category.