KOTA KINABALU: Priscella Peter, the 27-year-old daughter of jailed Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) president Datuk Peter Anthony, has been appointed as the party’s acting president.

The party’s supreme council made the decision on Friday (March 7) after Anthony was sentenced to three years in prison and fined RM50,000 for forging a 2014 maintenance contract for Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Priscella, one of the party’s two deputy presidents, will now lead KDM, with the support of fellow deputy president Datuk Wetrom Bahanda, who is also Kota Marudu MP and Bandau assemblyman.

“The supreme council chaired by Wetrom unanimously decided for Priscella to take over as acting president,” KDM secretary-general Willie Jude said in a statement following the council meeting.

Wetrom will also continue serving as the party’s election director, he said.

Jude said the move aligns with KDM’s preparations for the upcoming state election, due this year.

He explained that the party had considered this leadership transition as a contingency plan in the event Anthony lost his final appeal at the Court of Appeal.

“The decision is also proper as Priscella is one of the founding members of the party. Wetrom has given his full support for it and has in fact made the proposal for her appointment as acting president.

“Each of us has a role in the party. We work as a close-knit family and are ready to face any challenges ahead,” Jude said.

Priscella holds a master’s degree in accountancy from Curtin University in Australia.

Jude also reiterated the party’s decision to contest the state election independently.

“Whatever decisions of the party made by Peter Anthony will go ahead as planned. We will not take a step back as this is for Sabah,” he added.

Anthony left Parti Warisan on Dec 28, 2021, to form KDM.

He filed an appeal against his conviction by the Sessions Court in 2022 but it was dismissed by the High Court on April 18, 2023.

A three-judge Court of Appeal panel chaired by Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim dismissed his final appeal on Tuesday (March 4).