KOTA KINABALU, Nov 7 — His rejected nomination for the Tenom federal seat will only spur the fledgling Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (PKDM) and raise its morale, said president Datuk Peter Anthony.
The Melalap assemblyman said he was confident that the rejection would only be a minor setback, and continued to say he did not understand why his undischarged conviction affected his nomination.
“It does not make sense. How can I still be Melalap assemblyman if I am convicted? Shouldn’t there be a by-election by now if I am convicted. It is an offence to the court decision.
“I will leave it to my lawyers to work out but I am confident that things will work out in our favour,” he said when speaking to reporters while on the campaign trail for his deputy president Datuk Wetrom Bahanda in Kota Marudu.
Peter said that his supporters were sad that he could not contest, and claimed some even cried, but he assured them that there would be a silver lining from this.
“We will be ready in other seats, and prepared to fight after what happened in Tenom,” he said.
Peter said he has yet to endorse another candidate for the seat, as he wanted his supporters to recover first.
But it was likely that he would choose a local party that fits in with his party cause for a state struggle.
“Let them mourn first. But I trust Tenom will have a by-election. This is not the end for us, it is only the beginning of KDM,” he said.
Peter had submitted his nomination papers despite an undischarged conviction for forgery in August, for which he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and a RM50,000 fine.
Peter claimed he was still entitled to run in the election as he was appealing the decision. During nomination, the returning officer had approved his nomination and he was told the objection came from the EC headquarters.
Some 300 of his supporters stormed the nomination centre and police had to quell the crowd with tear gas.
