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Saturday, 5 January 2013

Disillusioned activist Sindu quits STAR

Exodus from STAR is expected with the exit of long-time Sabah human rights and consumer activist.

PAPAR: A well-known human rights and consumer activist, Patrick Sindu, has dropped a bombshell on surging State Reform Party (STAR). He is resigning from STAR to join another opposition party, PKR.

Sindu, who was STAR chief for Papar, said he had lost confidence in the party led by maverick Sabah opposition leader, Jeffrey Kitingan.

Sindu claimed there will be a mass resignation from STAR following his exit.

In a text message to his friends today, the former long-standing president of the now defunct Consumer Association of Sabah (Cash) said he will be joining PKR tomorrow.

“I am joining PKR at 2pm tomorrow at a PKR function at Kampung Sungkadon, Papar, to be witnessed by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail,” he said.

When FMT called, Sindu said details of his reasons for leaving STAR would be disclosed in his exit speech at the Papar function.

“Please come tomorrow, you will hear it [the reason] in my speech…” he added.

It is rumoured that Sindu has been unhappy with the way STAR has treated him.

He has been particularly annoyed that Jeffrey had excluded him from the party’s long list of leaders to sign a transparency pledge with Transparency International (TI) in Kota Kinabalu a few months ago. Jeffrey had apparently chosen mostly “green horns”.

Sindu, a one-time United Nations’ human rights rapporteur for the Asia-Pacific region, who had been present at the TI function, was said to have been visibly upset at not being “recognised” as advocate of transparency and good governance.

There have also been talks of covert efforts within STAR to deny Sindu the opportunity to contest in the coming general election, possibly the Papar parliamentary seat, where he had once stood as an independent candidate.

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