KOTA KINABALU - Police fired tear gas at a big group of supporters who were riled up after learning that their party president Peter Anthony was disqualified as a candidate in the upcoming election.

Commissioner Hazani Ghazali said the tear gas was fired to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control. There were no reports of injuries so far, the Malay Mail reported.

In videos shared on social media, supporters of Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (PKDM) were seen shouting in anger outside the nomination centre in Tenom, Sabah, on Saturday. They also clashed with the Light Strike Force officers who were in charge of riot control at the scene.

Anthony, 51, apologised for the clashes at a press conference, but said he will challenge the Election Commission’s (EC) decision in court.

The incumbent Melalap state assemblyman said “everything was going smoothly” in the morning, and the returning officer had accepted his nomination.

But just as he was leaving, he was told the EC headquarters had objected to his nomination, because he was convicted of forging documents in relation to a system maintenance contract in May. He applied for a stay of execution on his three-year jail term, but paid the RM50,000 (S$15,000) fine.

“I told them that the time for objection was between 9am to 10am, and it clearly has expired,” he was quoted as saying in The Borneo Post. “They initially accepted all my documents without any objection but why at the very last minute, close to noon, was it rejected?” he asked.

“On my part, I will be filing for a judicial review in court this Monday to get a decision on whether I am eligible to contest or not,” he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.

The former Sabah infrastructure development minister was also facing money laundering charges, but was acquitted in August.

Anthony was previously vice-president in Parti Warisan before quitting to form PKDM in January. He won his current Melalap state seat under Warisan’s ticket in the 2018 and 2020 state polls.