Jeniri Amir of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak said Leiking was highly regarded by the KDM community, which is believed to account for almost 40 per cent of Sabah’s population.
He was commenting on yesterday’s announcement by Shafie that he planned to take over an existing party and that Leiking was quitting PKR to join him.
Jeniri acknowledged that Shafie’s new party could win a few seats in Sabah, but he said it was doubtful that it would be able to deny Barisan Nasional its two-third majority in the state assembly.
Another analyst, Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya, said he believed Leiking quit PKR because the party was still considered a “foreign entity” in Sabah.
“Leiking needs a Sabah platform to get more support from a wider section of Sabahans,” he said. “Being in a Sabah party also means that he can do what he wants without being restricted” by the PKR bureaucracy in Kuala Lumpur.
Awang Azman agreed with Jeniri that Sabah PKR would now face some difficulty in attracting KDM voters.
He believes that Leiking could play a stronger role in uniting the KDM community under Shafie’s new party because KDM interest would be better protected by a local party.
According to a news report, Leiking, along with Sulabayan assemblyman Jaujan Sambakong, who had quit Umno, met Shafie at the office of the Registrar of Societies (ROS) in Putrajaya yesterday.
The report said they discussed the takeover of a Sabah-based party and changes in its name and logo, but declined to reveal details pending approval from ROS.