KOTA KINABALU: Saidil Simoi joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) with its de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the party as he believed it could bring justice to the people in the state.
He even contested in the Kota Belud parliamentary constituency on PKR’s ticket in 2008 and was on the state leadership council.
The former PKR Kota Belud chief who is also Sabah Buku Jingga director, however, said that he now realized that PKR and Anwar have been giving false and empty promises to the people in Sabah.
“I went along with it, I went around the whole state with PKR’s struggles and speaking to the people about autonomy but I was lying to the people and I said to myself, do I want to continue with the farce?
“Do I want to continue fighting for a party that is named Parti Keadilan but is actually not practising justice? I feel guilty because it is not just about lying to myself … I am lying to the rakyat,” said Saidil who quit PKR to join BN yesterday.
Anwar, according to him, is a very charismatic speaker who can influence a person’s thinking with his words.
“That is Anwar. But let me explain, Anwar has a personal agenda. I did not realize this until the last moment when I saw just how empty PKR’s struggles are,” he said and was of the opinion that Anwar’s agenda has nothing to do with the welfare of the people in Sabah but instead is more about personal reasons.
Anwar, he claimed, was acting on his vindictive feelings and his desire to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia and is a cosmetic leader.
“So today, I am determined to correct a wrong and make up for lying to the people in Sabah, especially Kota Belud. I was also the State Buku Jingga director and was responsible to analyze in detail what it promises.
“What is clear is that there is no autonomy for Sabah as promised by Pakatan Rakyat leaders and let me give one example, which is on the candidacy for Sabah in the 13th general election. Sabah leaders were not consulted on the matter,” he said.
Saidil believed that PKR’s candidates will not be able to compete against Barisan Nasional’s and will therefore not be able to bring about changes for the people in Sabah.
He also stressed that his decision was made voluntarily because he was not willing to lie to the people of Sabah anymore.
“In my opinion, if PKR forms the government, it could be worse than what we have been dreaming of all this while. That is how I feel and I hereby state my support for all the BN leaders who have stood steadfast in the face of all that have been thrown in their faces. They hold on to the principle of bringing change to the rakyat,” he said.