KOTA KINABALU: Newly-appointed Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) deputy president Datuk Pang Yuk Ming said it was not too late to resolve the leadership crisis of the Sabah-based party.
Welcoming the recent statement by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who wanted the internal problems of LDP to be resolved amicably soon, Pang said it should be done in the interest of preserving harmony in the Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Nothing is too late. If everybody puts the interest of the party and its struggle first, I think it is not too late (to resolve the problem amicably).
“I certainly welcome it … I am looking forward to seeing such a plan whereby all leaders (of LDP) can sit down and come up with a solution for the sake of the party.
“What is happening now is too much negative publicity … very bad things coming out from both sides, not from its leaders but from the grassroots, it is not good for the image of the party and BN as a whole,” he told reporters after witnessing an agreement signing ceremony involving MASwings, Star Cruises and Airworld Travel and Tour here yesterday.
Pang, who is also State Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, was representing minister Datuk Masidi Manjun at the function.
He was asked to comment on Muhyiddin’s statement last Tuesday on the matter.
Expressing concern over the leadership crisis in the parties, Muhyiddin, who is also BN deputy chairman, was quoted as saying that he had directed BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to discuss with these parties whether there was a possibility of reconciling or solving the problems and achieving understanding to mitigate them.
The LDP leadership crisis came to a boil recently after LDP secretary general Datuk Teo Chee Kang announced that he would be vying for the post of president.
He was later sacked by party president Datuk V K Liew for allegedly violating the party’s constitution and failing to carry out the instructions of supreme council members.
Liew was quoted as asserting that the supreme council meeting on June 9 had decided that the posts of president and deputy president were not to be contested to avoid a split among members, and the minutes of the meeting were recorded by Teo, who is also the Minister of Special Functions in the Chief Minister’s Department.
This internal bickering saw Liew’s faction planning to hold the party’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Oct 19 at the Yu Yuan multi-purpose hall in Sandakan and another faction attempting to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting tomorrow at Kian Kok Middle School near here.