SAPP's Yong miffed by Kit Siang's public ridicule

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee said he was surprised by the harsh way DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang attacked SAPP.

“As a matter of fact, Sabah DAP chief Jimmy Wong Sze Phin had called and SMSed to invite me to the DAP Kaamatan (harvest festival) celebration (yesterday). In reciprocating, I invited Wong as a guest to my house and we had a nice chat on politics.

"We agreed that it was important that we build mutual confidence between SAPP and DAP, to meet Lim Kit Siang at the DAP harvest festival and exhibit goodwill so that the future relationship between SAPP and DAP can be improved," he said in a statement in Kota Kinabalu today.

Yong, a former Sabah chief minister, said as a guest at the DAP function, he did not expect to be issued a public ultimatum by Kit Siang in a harsh manner that put him and his colleagues in an embarrassing situation and their party ridiculed in public.

"Lim caught all of us by surprise by his harsh tone, the abrasive way in pinpointing me by name and ridiculing SAPP.

"My immediate feeling was that, after their super victories in the April Sarawak state elections, Lim Kit Siang's DAP has already become super confident of taking over Putrajaya and the Sabah state government at the coming general elections,” said Yong in an immediate reaction to Lim's speech in which the DAP supremo had issued an ultimatum for SAPP to join Pakatan Rakyat on the grounds that "only Pakatan can beat BN".

Yong said he wondered if it was because Lim now felt that DAP did not need anybody else, as Pakatan alone could beat the BN, then why the need to demand SAPP to join Pakatan.

What happened to Pakatan-plus proposal?

The SAPP president recalled that at the DAP rally on September 16, 2008 at Kian Kok School in Kota Kinabalu, Lim had called for a Pakatan-plus coalition with SAPP.

"This means that SAPP need not be a member of the fledgling Pakatan," he said.

Yong had also spoken at that '916' DAP rally which took place a day before SAPP left the BN.

“Has Lim now unilaterally dropped his own Pakatan-plus formula?” asked Yong.

However, Yong said he still remained hopeful that SAPP's relationship with PKR, DAP and PAS could improve further before the general elections.

“I only hope that the super confidence of DAP leaders will subside in the coming months and realise that their promise of 416 (April 16) change of Sarawak government failed miserably because the '416 change' turned into a '416' Taib victory," he added.

- Bernama