LDP Deputy President Datuk Chin Su Phin’s press statement
KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) deputy president has contended that it was inappropriate for State Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Tun Said to make a political statement.
He reckoned that Salleh should learn from Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and remain neutral.
“May be it was not your (Salleh) own decision. If your ‘taiko’ want to make a political statement, he should look for other leader because it is inappropriate for the Speaker of the State Assembly to issue political statement,” said Chin yesterday when commenting on Salleh’s recent statement in support of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.
On his comment about the recent Sarawak state election, Chin said it was his own personal views and observations about the reality on the ground in the neighbouring state.
“What’s wrong if I spoke about the reality in the Sarawak state election; what’s wrong if we want to correct the mistakes,” he said, adding that he was amused by the reactions to his statement from certain Sabah Umno leaders who supported Musa as if the latter does not have the confident himself as the Chief Minister and Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman.
Chin reiterated that apart from the Chinese community, the Malays, Kadazandusun communities and even certain leaders from central Umno and civil servants were not satisfied with the way Musa has been handling things and problems affecting the BN and the people of Sabah.
“It’s not I creating problem with the BN. Today, Umno and its leaders are still our (LDP) good friend … I never complained about Umno; I merely commented on one particular Umno leader who is not accepted by certain quarters.
“They should not forget that even during Pak Lah’s (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) time as Prime Minister, some Umno leaders also asked him to step down because of his weakness. And, during the Sarawak state election, even MCA was asking Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to step down as Chief Minister so that the BN would not be adversely affected during the election.
“Today, we see the same problem in Sabah and I don’t see any reason why we should not speak up. We can see that certain leaders are denying the reality and they only want a review after the election about the reason for BN’s loss,” he contended in a statement.
Chin recounted that when Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) was in power, the party was bold and brave in voicing out problems affecting the State and the people.
“The PBS leadership is now weak and has become a ‘yes man’ in the BN. May be the leaders know that the rakyat are unhappy but they choose not to speak up for them.
“As members of the BN coalition, we should bring out the problems together and solve them within the BN family and spirit. But, those leaders with government posts never want to speak up so I would like to advice fellow BN partners to wake up,” he said.
Chin said the Kadazandusun and Murut communities are now giving stronger supports towards UPKO than the PBS, mainly due to the fact that UPKO has now become more vocal than ever in speaking up for the people.
On Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Peter Pang’s recent accusation that he (Chin) was arrogant, Chin replied; “I don’t want to comment on his (Pang) personality; let the rakyat judge him.”
“When Pang was in LDP I never commented about him and after he quit the party, I never commented about him either. If he is so good in politics he should not have left LDP and crossed over to Gerakan.
“Gerakan was almost wiped out in the last general election. Its ship has almost sunk and lost all the seats it contested in Penang. Today, the party accepted a few leaders from Sabah in the hope of refloating its ship again.
“I must advice Gerakan to change and when mistakes occured they should mend the mistakes together with the rest of the BN partners or else the remaining bits of its ship afloat will sink altogether in the next general elections,” he cautioned.
Chin assured fellow partners in the State BN that the LDP will not change its stand and will continue to soldier on until the problems within the coalition are solved.
He readily admits that he joined politics during the time of Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat’s time in helming the LDP.
He dismissed rumours that he was ordered by certain quarters including Chong in making his recent statements.
“I’m not being controlled by any quarters or any senior leaders. Those statements are mine alone. Besides, all those statements made by the LDP supreme council including the president were not directed by any quarters or other people.
“As part of the BN coalition, it is our (LDP) duty and responsibility to bring up whatever problems. We d not want Sabah to be the next Sarawak where the BN won in the state election there but lost the Chinese seats which is bad for the Prime Minister’s vision for the country,” he said.
Chong pointed out that the BN lost the Chinese seats in the Sarawak state election because the people were unhappy and put their dissatisfaction through the ballots.
“We have a similar problem in Sabah and should the State BN government refuse to accept the changes, the people would go against us and it will be a loss to the BN,” he warned.
