Kota Kinabalu: Moves are afoot to get Sabah DAP’s elected representatives to quit the party to form a new local-based Chinese party which would then support the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), claimed its Secretary Chan Foong Hin
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Chan, who is also Kota Kinabalu MP, claims agents, which also included “prominent business leaders”, had tried to convince the elected representatives to quit DAP.
“It’s true that there are a lot of middlemen or agents who have contacted some of our elected representatives to convince them to leave,” he told FMT.
“I won’t mention who the elected reps or who these agents are.
“But their reasoning is that there are no Chinese representatives in the State Cabinet and so GRS needs someone who can represent the Chinese community.
“However, I can only say thank you for their invitation but no thank you. So far, Sabah DAP is intact.”
Chan said there has been no further communication with the individuals after they brushed them away.
He was commenting on claims over social media that Sabah DAP leaders were in talks with a GRS leader to form the new party to be aligned with the ruling state coalition.
Speculation was also rife that Sabah DAP elected reps were among the next set of politicians to cross over after defections at state and federal level recently.
Chan, however, dismissed the claims that his party members were mulling the idea of a new party as well as having “secret meetings” with GRS with a view to crossing over.
“These kind of stories are very hot in the market now. A lot of people talk about that and I don’t rule out the possibility that someone is cooking up the story.
“There is no such thing as Sabah DAP having secret meetings with a top GRS leader. If there is any meeting at all, it is basically all done in their capacities as elected representatives.
“For example, Luyang Assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe and I inspected a defective flyover previously with Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin (who is Lamag representative)… so is this kind of meeting considered a secret meeting with a top GRS leader?” he asked.
He added even opposition reps would need to communicate with the GRS government sometimes if they needed to relay information or resolve issues in their respective constituencies.
“But if you’re talking about secret meetings, that is totally not true.”
Chan reiterated that Sabah DAP’s six assemblymen and three MPs were firmly with Warisan Plus, which is made up of a loose alliance between Warisan, PKR, Amanah and Upko, besides DAP.
He said the claims were just attempts by political rivals to destabilise the opposition and distract people from the current political issues.
“Everyone knows that Umno and PPBM are not on good terms at national level. So, despite GRS saying they are intact despite the rumblings in the peninsula, politics is always dynamic,” he said.
Sabah DAP Acting Chief Datuk Frankie Poon also dismissed the claims, saying they are lies spread by their opponents.
“There’s no reason why we want to do that (break away and form a new party) but, of course, I’m not surprised by attempts from the other side to create political uncertainty,” he said.
Chan said Sabah DAP’s actions have clearly shown where their allegiance lies.
“Recently we just opened a new office-cum-service centre for the people. And we also just had two Warisan Plus meetings.
“DAP’s stand which is against the katak (party hopping) is always consistent. Unity is still the top priority among the opposition despite all kinds of temptations coming to us.
“Look at what we are doing, not what people are saying. Their attempts show they are desperate,” he said.
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