KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) is not backing down from the firestorm over its stand that only local-based parties should contest the next state election.
Its information chief Chin Vun Kai said this was in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the autonomy of Sabah to call for the election of its legislative seats to be limited to local political parties.
While only leaders of peninsula-based parties were unhappy with SAPP’s stand, he said, the party has considerable local backing on the matter.
“SAPP has received overwhelming response from people supporting the proposal that only Sabah parties contest in the state elections,” he said in a statement on Wednesday (Aug 16).
“Taking the recent Sarawak state election (in 2021) as an example, both Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional respected Sarawak's sovereignty and did not send candidates to contest.
“Only Pakatan Harapan was disrespectful of MA63 and Sarawak autonomy,” Chin contended.
Speaking after a SAPP function here on Sunday (Aug 13), its president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, who is also Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) deputy chairman, said peninsula-based parties should not contest in the state election due in 2025.
The nominated assemblyman said only local-based parties should contest the 73 state seats as it was a state election.
He said he would propose to the GRS leadership that friendly parties including Pakatan, Barisan and Perikatan stay out of the race to avoid any overlapping of candidates.
His comments drew flak from local leaders from Barisan, Perikatan and Pakatan who pointed out that no party could stop other political outfits from contesting in any state election, including in Sabah.
Sabah Perikatan chairman Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee had said the coalition wanted an explanation from Yong while Sabah Barisan chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin described the suggestion as “absurd”.
Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin Zhe contended that Yong was trying to destabilise both the Federal and state governments by sowing discord among GRS and Pakatan.
SAPP is one of the seven component parties of GRS which helms the state government that also includes Sabah Pakatan parties.
It is also part of the Perikatan coalition at national level, with Yong being the Opposition coalition deputy chairman.
Chin, in his statement, said Sabah could replicate what Sarawak and its government have done.
“It is obvious that the Sarawak government has managed to run the state better without the interference of political parties from the peninsula.
“If Sabah can do this, not only can it be governed more autonomously, but it will also be better represented in the Federal Government.
“This is also more in line with the spirit of MA63,” he added.
Chin said DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke had to personally go to Sarawak to apologise to its government after Lim Guan Eng said in 2019, when he was then finance minister and DAP secretary-general, that the state would go bankrupt in three years under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“This is because Pakatan and Barisan must obtain the support of GPS in order to form the Federal Government,” he said.
Chin added that Sabahans would remember Barisan's promise during the Kimanis parliamentary by-election in January 2020 that it would fully implement MA63 if it returned to power.
But later, he said, the Sabah Barisan chief said Putrajaya would go bankrupt if the state's 40% tax revenue entitlement were to be implemented.
