Sabah election about the people, not political turf wars - SAPP president

KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee expressed displeasure over the tussle for seats among political parties, especially those from Peninsular Malaysia, which seem to regard election seats as their exclusive property.

He reminded that in a democratic system, all seats belonged to the people and were not the exclusive rights of any political party.

“The people want to know what issues the political parties are fighting for. What can the people expect if a party or a leader wins the election?

“So far, the public, including myself, remains unclear about what some parties and leaders actually stand for. All we keep hearing is about seats, seats and more seats,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

He made the remarks in response to some parties starting to declare the number of seats they hope to contest in the upcoming 17th State Election.

The former Sabah Menteri Besar said the situation today is very different compared to the pre-2008 era when political power at the federal level was still dominant and concentrated in Peninsular Malaysia.

“Malaysia’s new political landscape today has given Sabah and Sarawak more space to demand greater autonomy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yong also touched on SAPP’s struggles, including the issue of Sabah identity cards and the demand for the Labuan territory to be returned to the state.

He also questioned the silence of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) regarding the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

“Which party is truly brave enough to fight for Sabah’s rightful 40 per cent net revenue share, estimated at RM2.6 billion a year, not RM600 million?

“Is there any party within PH and BN demanding that 35 per cent of parliamentary seats be returned to Sabah and Sarawak?” he asked.

Recently, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), through its Deputy President Nurul Izzah Anwar, proposed contesting 13 seats in the upcoming Sabah state election, while Sabah DAP is reportedly eyeing 10 seats.