SAPP blast Sabah critics calling for its ouster

Umno wants Tawau seat in next poll

TAWAU: Umno Tawau wants the Tawau parliamentary seat in the next election.

This was amog various resolutions passed by the division in a meeting yesterday.

Divisional chief Datuk Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan said this was decided following feedbacks from voters and Umno members who were disappointed with the Tawau MP Datuk Chua Soon Bui who were among the two SAPP MPs who wanted to support the vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister.

“They said Chua had betrayed the mandate of the people in Tawau,” he added.

Tawfiq who is Assistant Finance Minister also said the Twau parliamentary seat should be given to Umno since the majority of the voters there were Muslim Bumiputeras.

Meanwhile, he said it was also proposed in the meeting that the state government set up a chain of shops in each town to sell controlled items like rice.

“The existing shops prefer to sell other items since they cannot raise the prices of controlled items,” he explained.

Tawfiq also hoped that the federal government would consider issuing rice import permits to firms or individuals keen in the business. Right now only Bernas is allowed to import rice

SAPP blast Sabah critics calling for its ouster

Wednesday, 16 July 2008

Still unable to cast a no-faith vote agains the Prime Minister, the Sabah Progressive Party has now turned its sights on its Sabah critics whom it claims want the rebel party out of the Barisan Nasional for their own interests.

SAPP secretary-general Datuk Richard Yong blasted the critics from the Sabah Barisan Nasional, saying leaders from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)have become apologists for Kuala Lumpur.

"SAPP is of the view that these parties, including PBS and LDP, could not wait for SAPP to be ousted so that they will have the government positions to be vacated by SAPP representatives to dish out to their leaders," Yong said in a statement yesterday.

The tiny Chinese-based SAPP has a deputy chief minister and an assistant minister in the Sabah state government apart from two Members of Parliament in the federal parliament, both of whom were tasked with moving or supporting a no-confidence motion against Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on two occasions.

They did not turn up for the first occasion on June 24 citing death threats while the second last Monday was rejected by House Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.

The Barisan Nasional supreme council have given SAPP until end of July to explain itself for deciding to move or support a no-confidence motion against Abdullah, who is chairman of the 14-member ruling coalition.

Yong reiterated its no-confidence decision against Abdullah "was not an isolated move to gain notoriety, but in cognizance with its struggle for the rights of Malaysians in Sabah."

"That the Prime Minister has been ineffective and paying only lip-service to Sabah's interests is known by and acknowledged by all Malaysians, particularly those parties in Sabah," he said.

Pointing out that other BN leaders have gone on record calling on the PM to act more expediently on Sabah issues including those related to illegal immigrants, regional development imbalances and poverty eradication, he said Sabah leaders in the Federal Government not to lose sight of their obligations to the state electorate.

"It is disappointing to the Sabah people that leaders like Dr Maximus Ongkili and Datuk V K Liew have become "federalised" and "domesticated" that they have become apologists for Kuala Lumpur," Yong said, castigating Dr Maximus for calling SAPP a "political bitch" recently.

He added the party doubted if BS and LDP still hold to their commitment to fight for Sabah rights and Sabahan interest as they have been calling for "SAPP's blood".

"SAPP concludes that PBS and LDP's intensity in wanting SAPP sacked from BN, or calling for SAPP to quit the coalition, is a simple act of self preservation," he said.

Yong also continued the party's attack on the Federal Government, saying recent promises to inject massive development funds into Sabah "may just be attempts to pull wool over their eyes in this climate in which a government is rapidly losing the people's trust."

He questioned the RM1 billion promised by the Prime Minister several months ago, asking if the money has been "disbursed through the various Umno divisions in a move to pacify these grassroot leaders and to prevent a revolt in view of the Umno elections this December?"

He also highlighted a recent promise of RM700 million for education projects in Sabah, saying it was hard to comprehend as school children still risk their lives to go to school by crossing rivers on bamboo rafts.

"Four consecutive state administrations, including this current one, have failed to give these children the convenience of a suspension bridge costing perhaps just tens of thousands of ringgit; and here we have a promise to inject millions into rural schools," Yong said. - The Malaysian Insider

Extracted from Malaysia kini, Voxpop,July 30

Jeremy: When it was reported that Sapp of Sabah was secretly meeting up with the PKR/PR's de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, presumably over the political interest of Sabahans, most of the BN component parties, in particular Umno, were quick to condemn Sapp over their action.

PBS of Sabah went to the extent of its deputy president Maximus Ongkili calling Sapp a ‘political bitch' for flirting with opposition while remaining in BN.

Now that it is open secret that Umno - lead by none other than its president Pak Lah and ex-MB of Selangor Khir Toyo - had secret talks with the opposition PAS on the pretext of Malay unity, but clearly more so for Umno political hold over Selangor.

I wonder who would PBS' Maximus Ongkili call 'a ‘political bitch' for flirting with the opposition while remaining in BN' this time around? Obviously he would rather lose his tongue than lose his job (in the government).