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30th June, 2008
KOTA KINABALU: Was SAPP’s recent “revolt” a move to highlight Sabah’s economic backwardness or was it done more for the party’s political survival?
This seems to be the contention by some politicians and political analysts as they digest the drastic action by the Sabah Progressive Party to have a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng said whether SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee’s action was personal or otherwise, it was not so important as compared to SAPP’s survival of the SAPP itself.
Khoo contends that there is growing sentiment among Sabahans after the March 8 general election that despite having given a huge mandate to Barisan Nasional, they “felt neglected and nothing has been done to improve the situation”.
“If you go to the ground, the social economic development (has not gone very well in Sabah). A lot of opportunities around but yet their average income is still below RM629 per month or 23 per cent, making Sabah the second poorest in the country.
“So, if a party like SAPP, which is part of the ruling government, does not do something, it will be the end of the party itself. Power is important to a political party. If it don’t have it that will be the end of the party,” he said.
Khoo said the reaction from other BN component parties was massive despite the motion was only against the Prime Minister and that SAPP was merely expressing its views on Abdullah’s leadership.
SAPP supreme council member and information chief Kassim Sulaiman said: “Our actions have been misconstrued that we are with the Opposition but we are merely expressing the interests of Sabahans.”
Yong himself explained that he took the drastic decision because he felt the window of opportunity was getting closer and the party would have to do something in order to have the federal government pay more attention to solving many problems in Sabah.
Earlier, Yong gave the federal government an ultimatum until August to solve various issues which he said affected Sabahans.
“The window of opportunity is now and it’s closing sooner than we have thought. If we wait until August, it would be too close to fasting and Hari Raya (Aidilfitri), then followed by the MCA, Gerakan and Umno elections,” he said.
By this he meant that SAPP would have to attract the attention of the federal leaders now or else their focus later this year would be on other issues.
“The bottom line is if we wait, we’ve got to wait for another 45 years. By that time, I will be buried under the ground,” said Yong.
While the more sceptical are questioning the real motive behind SAPP’s demands, Yong nevertheless remains unperturbed by them, insisting that they are not for his personal benefit but for Sabahans.
“Don’t twist the story around,” said Yong as he claimed that some quarters had twisted his statement to cover their weakness. He did not elaborate.
Yong said back in the 1990s, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said that even without the Sabah and Sarawak vote, BN would still form the government as these two states would just complement the other parties in Peninsular Malaysia.
“However, now, without Sabah and Sarawak, you can’t even form the government,” Yong said.
“It is not wrong for us to demand as Malaysians,” he said.
“This is not the first time that we are asking. While we have the chance, we will ask. When we ask, they will give us some goodies for the time being. That is what I meant by window of opportunity. Why June? This is because we have a chance between June and August,” he said.
Some political analysts believed that Yong’s outburst was actually more towards an effort by SAPP to regain its relevance in Sabah politics since its formation in 1994.
“Of course, it will be a bonus if he can set off a momentum where he can be a kingmaker. What I see is that he has adopted a two-pronged strategy – first to set off the emergence of a new leadership at the federal level and if it does not materialise, at least the party can be competitive in the next general election,” said DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong, who is also Bukit Bendera MP.
He said the first objective had not been achieved as the other BN component parties had not supported the SAPP’s no-confidence proposal.
Liew said the additional allocation for Sabah in the Ninth Malaysian Plan Mid-Term Review should not only be seen as credit to the federal government but also to SAPP and Yong as well.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Datuk V.K. Liew believed that the SAPP outburst was actually more centred around the SAPP President himself as Yong’s action was consistent with an “action of a bitter man” after SAPP was not given the Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seats in the polls.
“It’s the agenda of vengeance which is the agenda of contradiction. He (Yong) is vocal in objecting to the Mazu (Godess of the Sea) statue project in Kudat early this year. He was the first BN leader to object to my submission (to have the project continued). If you have interest to help the Chinese community, you would be the first to fight for it, but he did not do so, even in his manifesto,” said Liew.
Liew also cited the case of Amanah Saham Sabah where 55,000 subscribers lost heavily in the investment when Yong was the Sabah chief minister.
“When he said fight for Sabah, why didn’t he fight for the 55,000 investors who lost heavily,” he said.
Liew alleged that Yong was trying to portray himself like the late Tun Mustapa Harun, the former Sabah chief minister, and Yong wanted the people to remember him that way.
PBS President Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan even went a step further to declare that Yong was “clearly an opportunist” as he remembered his behaviour as similar to the one on Jan 19, 1994 when Yong ditched PBS to form his own party.
“It is unfair to take the opportunity now, especially when the country is troubled with global issues such as increased fuel prices and food crisis. Is he a friend or enemy? Or it is just a leader’s tactic to use politics for his own personal gain,” he asked.
However, Khoo said whether Yong’s action was personal or otherwise, it was not so important as compared to the survival of SAPP itself as he pointed out the party was actually left without choice but to make a stand on the current socio-economic problems.
The move initiated by Yong has led the party to be slapped with a show-cause letter by the Barisan Nasional supreme council. SAPP is given 30 days to reply.
Its response will determine its faith in BN as Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said when announcing the show-cause decision.
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