SAPP Must Declare Their Stand

SAPP contests all the State seats (60) in Sabah as an opposition party chanting Sabah for Sabahans as a slogan. They win at least half, which is 30 seats, and before you know it they return to BN to become the second largest component party (in Sabah) or maybe even the largest. By then it could already be a different Chief Minister (if UMNO is still the largest component in Sabah).

By GM, Penampang Sabah

There is much talk about the coming by-election in Batu Sapi due 4th of November. Kota Kinabalu is far From Sandakan. However, the excitement is much alive here as it is in Batu Sapi, where we have PKR candidate Haji Ansari caught in a three cornered fight against SAPP President Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Datin Linda Tsen representing PBS/BN.

Different people have different opinions, some predict that PBS will easily retain the seat, some claim that SAPP will win with a huge majority creating a record, most people give PKR 50-50 chance of winning. Rumor has it that Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan and Christina Liew are both not there to campaign for Haji Ansari. This is sad, for me, this is the opportunity for PKR to show their solidarity and unity as PAKATAN RAKYAT.

I talk to a lot of people everyday as I go around, everywhere and anywhere I go, about why we need to change the government. On the subject of what choices we have so far has been between PKR and SAPP. Less is said about PAS and DAP. We cannot expect much of PAS as it is quite rare here in Sabah. One problem in Sabah is that there is lack of awareness. When we talk about the parties to choose from, people will say PKR, SAPP, DAP and of course BN. Many fail to understand or maybe are unaware that DAP and PKR are under the same umbrella, which is Pakatan Rakyat.

If you mention Pakatan, they will give you the blank look. However, if you mention PKR they know, and go oh …. Don’t be surprised, someone actually said to me, “I will not support PKR but I will support KeADILan”. This is not amusing, this is scary. I’m not saying that people are stupid, but I feel that they lack political awareness. My question is, when we say that we are campaigning, are we actually telling people what they would LIKE to know? Or what they SHOULD know?

In my efforts to reach out to voters and potential voters (those who have not registered), I always use Selangor as a reference. I will mention things that I hear all the time in Datuk Seri Anwar’s speeches, such as free water for the rakyat (water bill), a donation of RM2,500 for the family of the deceased to reduce the burden (in the event of a funeral), and a donation of RM100 to parents for their new born child. These are all given to the Selangor State Government to the rakyat. I don’t know whether these are true, but I am confident that they are as Datuk Seri Anwar always mentions this in his
Ceramahs.

I have already stored in mind that most people don’t actually know this but I am baffled that some actually question, “Itu sahaja?” (Is that all?). People, lets be realistic!! Which government has ever done this? If you are a Sabahan reading this now, ask yourself, is it worth RM50/RM100 to cast the wrong vote compared to what Pakatan has to offer in the long run? I am sure that we are smart and that we can think better than this.

During the elections, we actually accept RM50 to vote them and ensure they continue ruling. 2-3 years after election, we run to Hiew King Chew and Edward Ewol Muji, we run to Christina Liew and Haji Ansari, to ask for help in highlighting the unfulfilled promises left by you know who. Roads not tarred since the previous 3 state governments, bridges that desperately need repair have been neglected, street lights which are not working contributing to the increase in road accidents, and many more. Come election, we are again fooled by promises – take this RM50 as a guarantee that we will come back to solve your problems.

On the 27th of October, the day Datuk Karim Ghani, one of the pioneers in bringing UMNO to Sabah and served them long as Information Chief, announced and vowed that he will never again join BN. I am not a political heavy weight nor am I a politician to urge SAPP, but I personally feel that SAPP should declare their stand as what Datuk Karim Ghani did yesterday. On the possibilities that SAPP might return to BN, people defend SAPP by saying that it is doing their job by attacking the BN. Do we actually notice who they target? Most of the time the target is PBS, which is the second largest component party in BN Sabah.

There are stories that Pakatan wants to work with SAPP, but the offer is consistently declined by the latter. Some may say I am crazy by saying this. Possibility or utter fantasy, you be the judge. SAPP contests all the State seats (60) in Sabah as an opposition party chanting Sabah for Sabahans as a slogan. They win at least half, which is 30 seats, and before you know it they return to BN to become the second largest component party (in Sabah) or maybe even the largest. By then it could already be a different Chief Minister (if UMNO is still the largest component in Sabah). ”We did it buddy, I will be your most loyal deputy/you must be loyal to me as a deputy”. This did not come from me alone, others also foresee this happening.

I will wait for another week. If there is still no declaration from SAPP, and then it will have to be, “Lawan BN, tolak SAPP, sokong Pakatan!! We will push the “silent campaign” for Pakatan Rakyat into overdrive. I urge those in Pakatan Rakyat Sabah to work triple hard in explaining to the people why they need to change towards a Pakatan State and Federal government. Use Penang and Selangor as reference. Autonomy, I agree, but we need to use the Peninsula as our guidance as well as reference.

People argue, what do the Peninsula know? There are only 3 main ethnic races there namely the Malays, Chinese, and Indians compared to Sabah where we have such a huge number of races. My answer to this is, we have around 32 ethnic groups in Sabah (if my facts are correct). It is not necessary to have 32 parties to represent each ethnic group. The argument continues, PKR is a Peninsula party and not local. I respond: what about UMNO, MCA, and Gerakan? Some people still never give up by saying that even if UMNO is a Peninsula party, it is still represented by local Sabahan leaders. At this point I will just stop talking. This is another challenge to campaigning, you need to talk a lot, and I do mean A LOT!!

The time now is 0404hrs, I am thinking of going to PKR HQ in Jalan Bundusan, Penampang today. I have not joined PKR yet as I am also occupied with work, but I will definitely do. There is a lot to be done. Raja Petra’s work must not go down in vain. We need to act and make full use of the information given and spread it, even if it dries up our lips and throats. The Silent Campaign continues.