PETALING JAYA: Sabah Perikatan Nasional chairman Ronald Kiandee has taken a sarcastic swipe at the Sabah Progressive Party, suggesting that it might struggle to survive after quitting the coalition.
Kiandee said SAPP president Yong Teck Lee was made a nominated assemblyman in 2020 out of PN’s goodwill.
Yong was among six nominated assemblymen appointed after the 2020 Sabah election, in which the PN, Barisan Nasional and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) alliance defeated Warisan Plus.
With SAPP now out of PN, Kiandee questioned the party’s prospects in the upcoming state election.
“That’s also only if they are allocated seats by Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, considering that all parties within the coalition are vying for the same seats, such as the Liberal Democratic Party and PBS, which are eyeing Chinese-majority constituencies,” he told FMT.
“And if Pakatan Harapan joins the fray, I hope that they (SAPP) won’t end up becoming nominated assemblymen again.”
Kiandee was commenting on SAPP’s departure from PN, announced by Yong today.
According to Yong, PN’s decision to contest the upcoming state election conflicted with SAPP’s long-standing policy, which calls for all 73 state constituencies to be contested solely by local parties.
Kiandee, who is also a Bersatu vice-president, said SAPP has no right to stop PN from contesting in the state election.
“They must not forget that PN won 11 seats in the last state election (before shifting to GRS), while SAPP’s sole assembly seat came through PN’s goodwill,” he said. - FMT
