Pakatan-Sapp talks at a stalemate
Tony ThienPublished: Jun 29, 2009 2:50 AM | Updated: Jun 30, 2009 12:18 AM
A Sabah DAP leader has given the first indication of the difficulty for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to reach an agreement with former BN component party Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) on an electoral pact.
A Sabah DAP leader has given the first indication of the difficulty for Pakatan Rakyat to reach an agreement with former BN component party Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) on an electoral pact.
"I have had numerous discussions and private meetings with (Sapp president) Yong Teck Lee (left). They want to contest between 45 and 50 seats out of the 60 state seats," DAP's Kota Kinabalu chief Dr Hiew King Chiew told Malaysiakini today.
"So there is no point in talking (about an electoral pact)," he said after his recent lunch meeting with newly-appointed Sabah PKR chief and PKR national vice-president and Azmin Ali, Yong and Sapp deputy president and Sepanggar MP Eric Majimbun in Kota Kinabalu.
He was informed the meeting was ‘just a minum kopi (informal coffee chat).'
Dr Hiew, who was appointed to the state party post last year, has been DAP Kota Kinabalu branch chief since 2002.
He said DAP national adviser Lim Kit Siang also met Yong, a former chief minister, after Sapp pulled out from the BN last September.
He said Pakatan was talking about a Pakatan-Plus but Sapp was intent on a Sapp-Plus.
Talks to continue
Yong, he said, was adamant and wanted a dominant role should the Opposition win the next general election.
Dr Hiew (right) said Sapp and Yong regarded Pakatan Rakyat partners as ‘foreigners' even though both Sabah DAP and Sabah PKR comprised locals.
The three parties, however, would continue with talks to reach some sort of understanding.
In a worst case scenario, said Dr Hiew, DAP and PKR would each distribute the 60 seats equally among themselves, with DAP contesting most of the 10 urban seats and possibly another 15 of what he described as the Bumiputra seats.
In the March 2008 general election DAP contested five parliamentary and 10 state seats and won one parliamentary seat (Kota Kinabalu) and one state seat (Sri Tanjung, Tawau).
Jimmy Wong was the first DAP candidate ever elected to the state assembly in the party's history in Sabah.
Sabahans feel neglected
In the 1981 general election DAP won four parliamentary seats.
Dr Hiew said DAP is gaining strength in Sabah and he was confident the party would win more seats the next time around.
"Sabahans are angry and unhappy about what's going on in the state and feel shortchanged. The illegal immigrant problem, the miniscule share allocation to the state from the economic stimulus package, padi planting subsidies and other bread-and-butter issues affecting Sabahans are not properly attended to," said Dr Hiew.
He said the RM1 billion allocation to develop padi fields is ‘a little too late' and Sabah is having to pay for it by importing 200,000 tonnes of rice annually to make up for the shortage.
The state BN controls 59 of the 60 state seats and 35 seats are in the hands of Sabah Umno.
Dr Hiew said to win the general election, the Opposition must unite and not contest against each other in order to break Umno's control in the state.
"I have had numerous discussions and private meetings with (Sapp president) Yong Teck Lee (left). They want to contest between 45 and 50 seats out of the 60 state seats," DAP's Kota Kinabalu chief Dr Hiew King Chiew told Malaysiakini today."So there is no point in talking (about an electoral pact)," he said after his recent lunch meeting with newly-appointed Sabah PKR chief and PKR national vice-president and Azmin Ali, Yong and Sapp deputy president and Sepanggar MP Eric Majimbun in Kota Kinabalu.
He was informed the meeting was ‘just a minum kopi (informal coffee chat).'
Dr Hiew, who was appointed to the state party post last year, has been DAP Kota Kinabalu branch chief since 2002.
He said DAP national adviser Lim Kit Siang also met Yong, a former chief minister, after Sapp pulled out from the BN last September.
He said Pakatan was talking about a Pakatan-Plus but Sapp was intent on a Sapp-Plus.
Talks to continue
Yong, he said, was adamant and wanted a dominant role should the Opposition win the next general election.
Dr Hiew (right) said Sapp and Yong regarded Pakatan Rakyat partners as ‘foreigners' even though both Sabah DAP and Sabah PKR comprised locals.The three parties, however, would continue with talks to reach some sort of understanding.
In a worst case scenario, said Dr Hiew, DAP and PKR would each distribute the 60 seats equally among themselves, with DAP contesting most of the 10 urban seats and possibly another 15 of what he described as the Bumiputra seats.
In the March 2008 general election DAP contested five parliamentary and 10 state seats and won one parliamentary seat (Kota Kinabalu) and one state seat (Sri Tanjung, Tawau).
Jimmy Wong was the first DAP candidate ever elected to the state assembly in the party's history in Sabah.
Sabahans feel neglected
In the 1981 general election DAP won four parliamentary seats.
Dr Hiew said DAP is gaining strength in Sabah and he was confident the party would win more seats the next time around.
"Sabahans are angry and unhappy about what's going on in the state and feel shortchanged. The illegal immigrant problem, the miniscule share allocation to the state from the economic stimulus package, padi planting subsidies and other bread-and-butter issues affecting Sabahans are not properly attended to," said Dr Hiew.
He said the RM1 billion allocation to develop padi fields is ‘a little too late' and Sabah is having to pay for it by importing 200,000 tonnes of rice annually to make up for the shortage.
The state BN controls 59 of the 60 state seats and 35 seats are in the hands of Sabah Umno.
Dr Hiew said to win the general election, the Opposition must unite and not contest against each other in order to break Umno's control in the state.
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