SAPP gearing up for general election

Sabah Progressive Peoples' Party is yet to decide on its candidates for the 13th general election.

LAHAD DATU: Local opposition party Sabah Progressive Peoples’ Party (SAPP) has started full-scale preparations to face the coming general election as the Chinese New year celebrations wind down to an end this week.

The party is also seeking better co-operation with other opposition parties to find a formula to defeat ruling Barisan National (BN) coalition, party president, Yong Teck Lee, told reporters here.

He said there have been talk that the government would call general election before June this year and as such SAPP is making preparations in earnest, particularly in Lahad Datu.

Yong, however, said no decision had yet been made on where exactly the party would place its candidates.

“It is still premature to discuss this, but SAPP will give full support and will do its best to help other opposition party candidates to defeat BN candidates in the general election.”

Yong, a former Sabah chief minister, was speaking to reporters at a thanks-giving dinner at his house on Sunday night. The dinner was held in conjunction with the Pesta Xin Chun organised by the party Lahad Datu division two weeks ago.

Yong said the bigger turnout at Pesta Xin Chun compared to last year was due to the party’s good relationship with leaders from the local community, especially the Chinese community.

Yong has made frequent trips to Lahad Datu of late to meet with local community leaders after the Batu Sapi by-election.

Not in Lahad Datu

Asked if he would stand in Lahad Datu in the coming general election, Yong said that though Lahad Datu is his hometown, he had no intention to stand there.

On the biggest obstacle for co-operation with other opposition parties, he said that peninsula-based opposition parties do not understand the principle of autonomy for Sabah, and as such this was hindering talks among the parties.

He said that SAPP was seeking autonomy to enable Sabahans to decide for themselves their own government, instead of the federal government appointing the state government.

“This has been in the Malaysia Agreement all this while when Sabah and Sarawak agreed to form Malaysia in 1963… it is not something new…”

He believes that after step-by-step discussions in the near future with PKR and coalition leader Pakatan Rakyat, an understanding could be reached on Sabah autonomy before the general election.

“They have to accept the principle of autonomy for Sabah first; the rest will be easy to talk.”

Meanwhile, SAPP Lahad Datu division chairman, Wong Yu Chin, said the division had received more membership applications after the party had pulled out of BN last year, adding that this indicated growing support for the party’s struggle. - FMT