Defeated SAPP “did the right thing”

 

(FMT) – Did SAPP leaders misread the general electorates’ mood for general overhaul in state and national level politics?

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee is adamant that his party did the right thing in not hooking up with national opposition front, Pakatan Rakyat.

SAPP was wiped out in the 13th General Elections.

Yong rejected any blame for his party’s demolition which observers put down to misreading the general mood for a complete overhaul of state and national politics by SAPP’s top leadership.

Stung by Demokrasi Sabah (Desah) chairman Simon Simon’s comments that the State Reform Party (STAR) and SAPP had turned their guns on themselves, Yong denied his party adopted a misguided approach in the election

Sipaun, a respected former Suhakam (Malaysian Human Rights Commission) commissioner and retired Sabah state secretary had argued that the two local opposition parties had scuppered chances of a better showing in the election by going their own way and splitting the opposition vote.

By rejecting the one-on-one approach promoted by Desah, Sipaun said that the Jeffrrey Kitingan-led STAR and SAPP had not only dented the opposition’s chances of unseating the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition but had also shot themselves in the foot.

Overall, SAPP got well below 40,000 votes combined in the parliamentary and state constituencies where it put up candidates.

But Yong, who has never admitted to any mistake in his long career in politics, categorised Sipaun’s post-election analysis as unfair to the two parties.

He contended that Sipaun had lost sight of such real and more pressing issues like bribery, faulty electoral procedures, tainted electoral rolls, postal votes, vicious lies and lack of resources in his analysis.

Yong said his party was also at the receiving end of “vicious lies” by both Umno and DAP and the disorganised nature of the national opposition front had forced SAPP and STAR “to fight this very tough battle on our own”.

“SAPP was wiped out, as predicted by Sipaun, but SAPP retains our honour, our pride and our dignity as Sabahans who refused to be a “kerbau dicucuk hidung” (buffalo that is being led by its nose).

“Sabahans with honour will (live to) fight another day,” he said.

Read more at: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/05/14/defeated-sapp-did-the-right-thing/