Fekirie Gobet, former deputy communications chief of Sabah PKR, said the party’s problems began early with the appointment of peninsula leaders as Sabah election directors despite their own past electoral defeats, including in PKR strongholds.
PKR’s co-election directors in Sabah were deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar and former secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
In a video posted on Facebook, Fekirie criticised the party for blaming its defeats on the “Sabah for Sabahans” sentiment, saying it was a convenient explanation that shifted attention away from the party’s internal failings.
“This makes it easier for all problems to be swept under the carpet, without holding anyone accountable,” he said.
PKR contested 12 seats but won only the Melalap seat in the Sabah election, while its coalition partner DAP lost all its 8 seats. Gabungan Rakyat Sabah emerged as the largest bloc in the 73-seat assembly, while Warisan won 25 seats to be the biggest single party in the assembly. Barisan Nasional won 6 seats.
Fekirie said: “The party put forward those who had suffered heavy defeats to act as battle commanders”. He called it “a foolish decision” that affected morale and strategy on the ground.
He said he had resigned as deputy communications chief after disputes over logistics, such as cheaper local printers being passed over for producing campaign materials in favour of printers in the peninsula.
As a result, he said, campaign materials arrived late or could not be deployed in time in some seats, repeating problems seen in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
Fekirie also said campaign workers were promised allowances, but payments were delayed for up to two months, causing some to leave the campaign.
He said PKR also made several late and unsuitable electoral choices, adding that some decisions appeared to be influenced by financial considerations rather than actual support from the ground.
“The leadership never learns from past mistakes and will never learn if grassroots views continue to be ignored,” he said.
FMT has sought comment from PKR’s central leadership.