SAPP dissidents to set up splinter party

SAPP dissidents to set up splinter party

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 18 — The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), which parted ways with ruling coalition Barisan Nasional yesterday, could see a split as dissidents led by deputy president Datuk Raymond Tan is widely expected to set up a new party.

The Star reported today that Tan, vice-president Jimmy Wong and Youth chief Au Kam Wah are hoping to take a third of the tiny Sabah party's 300 branches across the Borneo state.

Tan, the Deputy Chief Minister and state Infrastructure Development Minister, with Wong, the Chief Minister's political secretary, and Au will be announcing their next move today.

Tan walked out of the party's supreme council meeting half an hour before it ended at 5pm at the party headquarters in Luyang here, saying the decision to quit should not have been made and should be decided by the party's grassroots.

"There was no proper basis for SAPP to leave Barisan and the excuse that it was because we were not invited for several Barisan meetings is not rational," Tan said, pointing out BN had yet to decide on SAPP's reply to a show-cause letter for its no-confidence stand against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He said the party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee seemed to prefer that the party be expelled from Barisan after he spoke out against the Prime Minister on June 18, adding that Yong's unhappiness with Barisan was partly because SAPP was not given any additional seats in the March 8 polls.

Asked if he would be setting up a new party, Tan said: "That is one option before us, but setting up a new party is not easy."

On how many of the 300 or so SAPP branches are with him, Tan said: "I will have to get feedback from the ground. In Sandakan, the signals are clear. I will also be in Beaufort and Tawau."

Au said he had not submitted his resignation although he sent the text message to Yong disassociating him from the decision.

He said SAPP's withdrawal from Barisan was a strategic move given the present circumstances but any decision made must take into account the feelings of the people. Both Au and Wong said they would issue a statement on the decision about their future with SAPP today.

Saturday September 20, 2008 MYT 7:32:54 PM

Cracks widening in SAPP
By MUGUNTAN VANAR


KOTA KINABALU: Cracks are widening in the Sabah Progressive Party’s east coast bastion of Sandakan with branches folding up following the party’s decision to quit Barisan Nasional on Wednesday.

Fifteen out of 17 branches with hundreds of members in the Tanjong Papat state constituency of Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan closed down with branch chiefs unanimously wanting to remain within the Barisan bloc.

Tan, who quit SAPP after party chief Datuk Yong Teck Lee announced the party’s pulling out of the Barisan, held meetings with the “dissenting” branch leaders.

The 49-year-old founder member of SAPP who declared himself a “Barisan independent” after quitting the party, said the branch leaders did not support the supreme council’s decision to withdraw from Barisan.

“I am now thinking of forming Barisan independent branches until we decide our next move,” Tan said, saying that forming a new party remained an option.

He expressed surprise over news reports that he intended to take over Parti Setia.

“I don’t even know who the Parti Setia president is and I don’t think he knows me,” he said in response to news reports that he and former Liberal Democratic Party assemblyman Datuk Liew Yun Fah were consulting each other in taking over or forming a new party.

Liew, a former minister, quit the LDP after he was dropped as a candidate in the March 2008 general election.

Tan claimed he was still getting feedback from the grassroots who were confused over the supreme council decision.

He is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman on Monday when he will personally tender his resignation from the state Cabinet following the SAPP pullout.

Another Sandakan SAPP leader Au Kam Wah, the Elopura assemblyman, has quit the party and has decided to stay as a Barisan independent with no immediate plans to join Tan or any other party.

Musa keeps Tan in Sabah Cabinet
KOTA KINABALU, Sept 22 — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman has decided to keep Datuk Raymond Tan in the state Cabinet even though Tan’s position was uncertain after the Sabah Progressive Party deputy president quit the party and declared himself an independent.

Tan thus retains his position as deputy chief minister and infrastructure development minister.

Tan’s position became precarious following the SAPP’s recent move to put out of the Barisan Nasional. The SAPP has two MPs and four assemblymen, two of whom have said they would be independent.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Immediate investigation whether PM influenced ACA investigation is needed..

By Charles Hector

I wonder whether an investigation has already commenced against Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, this Raymond Tan and the ACA officer concerned. I believe that what they did, if what Raymond Tan said is true, is something very wrong...

Or maybe, there will be no investigation -- because no one has filed a police report yet..

This kind of talk really makes me as a Malaysian very worried - I have serious doubts about the independence of the ACA, the Police, the Public Prosecutor...



The war of attrition continues over the sudden withdrawal of Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) from Barisan Nasional last week as a “shocking revelation” came to light.
MCPX
Its disgruntled ex-deputy president Raymond Tan (left) claimed on Saturday that he had been instrumental in preventing the arrest of party president Yong Teck Lee in June in relation to allegations of corruption.

An English-language daily in Sabah quoted Tan as saying that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had wanted Yong arrested by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA). This was after Yong spearheaded a no-confidence vote against Abdullah’s leadership.

In defending himself against claims of ingratitude by failing to support the Sapp pullout, Tan revealed that he had intervened on Yong’s behalf in June.

He said he had pleaded with Abdullah not to arrest Yong as it would be a bad move, and had even gone on television with a plea to allow the latter to speak up. - Malaysiakini, 22/9/08 - 'I stopped PM from ordering Yong's arrest'
Are not all Malaysians equal before the law? When the PM can decide who gets investigated...and maybe even who gets charged...it shows us the sad state of affairs that the country is in.

I recall PI Balasubramaniam's 1st SD - where he made statements giving the picture that the police made sure that his statement did not have any reference to Mohd Najib Razak - similarly, the DPPs did not even ask questions about the DPM. Was this again on instructions of the PM?

Wondered why also the Altantuya case started so fast... Was that again on instructions of the PM?

I seriously wonder whether police, ACA, AG, Courts are truly independent - or are they still influenced by powerful persons....

Raymond Tan has clearly stated what he did - and there should be action taken against him, PM and whoever else...


In an immediate response, Sapp newly-appointed information chief Chong Pit Fah described this as a “a shocking revelation [...] that he can influence the prime minister to stop ACA action”.

“This is an admission by a BN deputy chief minister that the prime minister can interfere with ACA work,” Chong said in a statement issued yesterday.

He also wanted to know if the same influence could be used on other persons such as serving ministers, or similarly abused. - Malaysiakini, 22/9/08 - 'I stopped PM from ordering Yong's arrest'

One of SAPP founder members resign

Tuesday, 23 September 2008 16:43
Datuk Tham Nyip Shen, one of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) founders back in 1994, today officially announced his resignation as party member and Science Advisor to the Chief Minister.

Tham told a press conference that he had sent his resignation letters to the office of SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Sept 18, but only decided to make the decision public today because he had wanted to inform Musa first.

While he was ’heartbroken’ to leave the party which he had helped form, Tham said he could no longer be with the party as he had no intention whatsoever to be in the opposition.

“It has always been my intention to serve the people through the government.

“I made the same decision in 1994, leaving Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and formed a party (SAPP) to join Barisan Nasional (BN) because at that material time, BN still ran the federal government. Today, I hold the same principle,” he told reporters.

- BERNAMA

SAPP to show proof of Sabah MyKad scandal

Friday, 03 October 2008 00:25
Evidence of illegal issuance of MyKad to foreigners will be released by the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) on Saturday.

The MP for Sepanggar, Datuk Eric Majimbun, said he would reveal the details that led to a population explosion in the state.
“Just imagine, our population increased by 285 per cent between 1970 and 2000,” he said. “I will bare all, including proof of people not born in Sabah becoming Malaysian citizens (in Sabah).”

Majimbun, who is also SAPP deputy president, was at the state government’s Hari Raya open house in Likas, hosted by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Wednesday.

Breach of M'sia Agreement: Yong

Friday, 03 October 2008 00:28
Kota Kinabalu: Placing the National Registration Department (NRD) under the State Government will be a long-term solution to the many problems affecting the people like Yong Lee Hua, said Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee.

"The State Government should initiate discussions with the Federal Government to make the NRD a State department," he said in a statement, Tuesday.

Yong said it has to be reminded to the NRD that under the terms of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement every resident of Sabah (North Borneo) on the formation of Malaysia was automatically accepted as a citizen of the federation (of Malaysia).

"By virtue of her being a Sabah native in 1963, it is clear that she qualified as a Malaysian citizen. What the NRD had done to Yong Lee Hua @ Piang Lin is a breach of the Malaysia Agreement and could be taken to a court of law.

"How can a genuine Sabahan Malaysian lose her citizenship so casually whereas foreigners can become citizens so easily?," he asked.

"This is why the case of Yong Lee Hua@Piang Lin has infuriated many people to the extent that even the Chief Minister has to tell the authorities to rectify the problems," he said.

"With the media coverage and immense pressure from Upko and the intervention of the Chief Minister, I believe that the case of Yong Lee Hua @ Piang Lin will be resolved."

Yong said if Upko, whose President is the most senior in the Federal Cabinet after the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and the Sabah Chief Minister cannot resolve this case, then nothing will.

"But what is more worrying is whether there are other cases of genuine Sabahans losing their Malaysian citizenships without the due process of law," he said.

He said what has happened in the recent decade is that many foreigners were able to obtain citizenship documents whether through legal or dubious means.

"These new citizens have become not only Malaysians but Sabahans with right of abode and employment in Sabah. These new citizens in Sabah have therefore acquired rights that surpass that of other Malaysians in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak," he said.

These people could enter and remain in Sabah whereas other genuine Malaysians (from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak) are still subject to immigration controls and work passes.

He claimed that by joining Umno, many of these new citizens have also acquired political privileges and positions of influence in many districts.

"Some have even been successfully considered as bumiputeras and can own native lands and enjoy other rights and privileges that surpass millions of other Malaysian non-bumiputeras," he said.

He reminded that under the terms of the formation of Malaysia in 1963, entry in Sabah and Sarawak comes under the respective State Governments and that the only persons the State authority cannot prohibit from entering the State are federal civil servants on official duties in the State concerned.

"The spirit and intent of the Malaysia Agreement was to protect the Borneo states (Sabah and Sarawak)," he said.

He recalled a time in the 1980s when even a Member of Parliament from peninsula was put on a wheelchair and forcibly evicted from Sabah at the old Kota Kinabalu airport in Tanjong Aru.

"Although many people did not agree with the abuse of the State's immigration powers in such manner, that power remains intact because the Director of Immigration complied with a State directive, he said.

"But there is no assurance that the director will comply with State directives if his superiors and (federal) Minister were to disagree with a directive of the State.

"After all, some directives are administrative and discretionary in nature and not a matter of strict law that an officer of the government must comply with," he said.

- Daily Express, Sabah

2008/10/03

SAPP info chief: Raymond Tan is still a party member
Bernama


KOTA KINABALU, FRI:

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) claimed that Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah is technically still a party member as he has yet to submit his resignation letter.


SAPP information chief Chong Pit Fah said as of today none of the members in the Tanjung Papat constituency, which was previously headed by Tan, had sent in their resignation letters.
Tan was recently quoted as saying that he now considered himself a Barisan Nasional (BN) independent after the SAPP pulled out from BN on Sept 17.
Chong said that under the party’s constitution, until and unless a member had resigned in writing and surrendered his membership card or had been expelled, his membership in SAPP was still valid.
Branch officials who had resigned were also required by law to return party properties such as membership files and accounts, he said in a statement, here today.
“It is also possible that, sometime in the future, some or all of these ex-members, including Tan may claim that in fact they have never resigned as members of SAPP.
“And as members, they would still have rights to attend meetings, enter party premises, vote and to hold office according to the party constitution,” he said.
Therefore, Chong said if there were still no resignation letters from Tan and his five agents, SAPP would have no choice but to proceed with actions “to establish permanently the membership status of Datuk Raymond Tan and the five agents”. He said the party’s headquarters had received 134 resignations from the Elopura constituency including that of former deputy chief Minister Datuk Tham Nyip Shen and Elopura assemblyman Au Kam Wah, and nine from the Telipok Town branch, near here, previously headed by the chief minister’s political secretary, Jimmy Wong Chee Kiong.
Chong said SAPP was fully aware that certain group of people had been offering inducements to SAPP members “to join their new party”, with incentives for publicly announcing their resignations from SAPP.
However, he said, most of the members had remained steadfast in SAPP and rejected their advances.

MCA vice-president wants (SAPP reject) Raymond Tan to be replaced - Malaysiakini
October 4, 2008 · National
Datuk Donald Lim is pressing for Umno to give Sabah Deputy Chief Minister post to MCA (and kick out Raymond Tan an estranged member of SAPP) and to allow party contesting 10 state and five parliamentary seats in the state. The Star reports:

Datuk Donald Lim, who is contesting the party’s deputy presidency, said that Sabah MCA chairman Datuk Edward Khoo, should be given the Deputy Chief Minister’s post to strengthen the Barisan Nasional in the state.

“I am proposing that MCA in Sabah be given the deputy chief minister’s post. There is no point for MCA to come to Sabah if until today for 17 years since 1991, we have only one assemblyman,” he told a news conference here on Saturday.

Lim said that Umno needs MCA to help strengthen its position in the state under the present political scenario following the withdrawal of the Sabah Progressive Party from the Barisan Nasional coalition last month.

Datuk Donald Lim adds:

“If everyday we are yes men, this is not politics or what the people and our grassroots want in Sabah. They are unhappy about it,” he said, adding that the MCA leadership had failed to fight for Sabah MCA members and they should apologise for their failure.

A populist stand - usually blurted out of politicians mouth when party election is around the corner to fish for vote.

It also an attempt by the MCA deputy president hopeful to divert attention from him, following a widely circulated short-text messages (SMS) alleging that he had formed a secret election pact with the camp closely linked to outgoing party president Ong Ka Ting. Read Malaysiakini for more.

DAILY EXPRESS NEWS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tan still a member: SAPP

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) claimed that Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah is technically still a party member as he has yet to submit his resignation letter.

SAPP Information Chief, Chong Pit Fah, said as of Friday none of the members in the Tanjung Papat constituency, which was previously headed by Tan, had sent in their resignation letters.

Tan was recently quoted as saying that he now considered himself a Barisan Nasional (BN) independent after the SAPP pulled out from BN on Sept 17.

Chong said that under the party's constitution, until and unless a member had resigned in writing and surrendered his membership card or had been expelled, his membership in SAPP was still valid.

Branch officials who had resigned were also required by law to return party properties such as membership files and accounts, he said in a statement here, Friday.

"It is also possible that, sometime in the future, some or all of these ex-members, including Tan may claim that in fact they have never resigned as members of SAPP.

"And as members, they would still have rights to attend meetings, enter party premises, vote and to hold office according to the party constitution," he said.

Therefore, Chong said if there were still no resignation letters from Tan and his five agents, SAPP would have no choice but to proceed with actions "to establish permanently the membership status of Datuk Raymond Tan and the five agents".

He said the party's headquarters had received 134 resignations from the Elopura constituency, including that of former Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Tham Nyip Shen and Elopura Assemblyman Au Kam Wah, and nine from the Telipok Town branch, near here, previously headed by the Chief Minister's political secretary, Jimmy Wong Chee Kiong.

Chong said SAPP was fully aware that certain group of people had been offering inducements to SAPP members "to join their new party", with incentives for publicly announcing their resignations from SAPP.

However, he said, most of the members had remained steadfast in SAPP and rejected their advances