Universiti Malaysia Sabah senior lecturer Lee Kuok Tiung said the party is aware its members are divided in whether to accept the former Umno federal minister but the leadership may opt to look beyond that because of his vast experience.

He said the party wanted to build its strength in the west coast using Salleh’s influence on the community, adding the latter is also the United Sabah Bajau Organisation (Usbo) adviser.

“With the party’s current two assemblyman and one nominated representative, PKR is not so strong in Sabah. Salleh can help to tackle the Bumiputera Muslim votes, particularly from the Bajau community.

“I believe PKR will try to pay more attention to Sabah and Sarawak as the seats in both states will be important to decide who will form the government following the next general election

“I think they will focus on the west coast first because it is more realistic as the east coast is Warisan’s stronghold,” Lee told FMT.

However, Rahezzal Shah Abd Karim disagrees, saying Salleh does not have the same clout with the Bajau community as before.

“He lost by 5,000 votes in the last election while (former Sabah Umno chief) Hajiji Mohd Noor retained Sulaman (a state seat within the Kota Belud parliamentary area) despite all the negative perceptions surrounding Barisan Nasional.

“Hajiji (who is now Sabah PPBM chief) is building his reputation now as the de facto leader of the Bajau Samah community.

“Salleh needs to do a lot of catching up to prove he still holds the support of Kota Belud’s Bajau or even the Bajau Samah as a whole,” said the Sabah Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) lecturer.

Salleh, who lost the Kota Belud seat in the 2018 general election to his cousin, Warisan candidate Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis, had confirmed last week in his blog that he had submitted an online application to join PKR, saying he would leave it to the leadership to consider it.

He said he wanted to join PKR because it is a multiracial party, which is in line with his political stance and beliefs and is more conducive for Sabah.

He said he would also like to help PKR champion progressive politics to ensure stability and moderation, especially in the state.

Almost immediately, division leaders issued statements urging the leadership against accepting Salleh.

Sabah PKR deputy chief Mustapha Sakmud made no secret about his stance, calling the ex-communications minister Najib’s “last samurai” and warned his party against accepting him into their fold.

Mustapha, who is also the Kota Belud PKR division head, said he was not opposed to Salleh’s “backdoor membership” but rather the consequences of accepting those who were once staunch supporters of Najib.

Other members, however, are fine with Salleh joining. They include Sabah PKR Youth chief Raymond Ahuar, who said he had no problems with it if Salleh was serious about strengthening the party for the next general election.

Ahuar said being formerly with Umno, Salleh will know the strategies of the party and BN.

Tony Paridi Bagang, of Sabah UiTM, said the rift among Sabah PKR members, caused by Salleh potentially joining the party, could boil over if the situation is not managed well.

Bagang said Salleh’s previous association with Umno, close allegiance to ousted former prime minister Najib Razak, and PKR’s Reformasi (reformation) policy, make him a blacklisted politician for party members.

He said it will certainly not sit well with his detractors if the former federal minister is eventually accepted, adding this would worsen the already fractious relations within the state chapter.

“Whatever decision the party leadership makes, some members would be happy and some would not. It depends on what their degree of dissatisfaction is. If not handled well, it could prove to be a disaster for PKR.

“This would create more factions and would not be good for the party as this can destabilise PKR as well as Pakatan Harapan as a whole, especially in Sabah,” he told FMT.

“My personal view is that his move into the party is probably a ‘set-up’, to create rifts and further aggravate existing ones.

“This could lead to many becoming disillusioned, causing them to leave the party,” he said.