Sabah must be autonomous

Young Sabahans have no desire to join the old political school which is to kowtow to Kuala Lumpur, says opposition SAPP.

KOTA KINABALU: Local opposition, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), will not compromise on its pledge for a politically autonomous Sabah.

"We made a mistake in the past… but we are determined not to do it this time. We will not bargain away the state," SAPP deputy president Amde Sidek said, adding that this was the reason why the party had decided not to join Pakatan Rakyat despite repeated calls by its leaders.

He said that Sabah must be allowed self-determination.

"There are two political schools now in Sabah. The old school seems to be too dependent on Kuala Lumpur, while the young are thinking that we are as good as any Malaysians, and let's do it (fight for autonomy).

"Kelantan before joining Pakatan was on its own. Similarly, I see no reason why Sabah people can't do the same thing," Sidek added.

He was commenting on Sabah PKR leader Karim Ghani's statement that independent political parties should either join Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan in facing the coming general election.

Karim also said that DAP's concept of a "Pakatan Plus" was unsatisfactory, adding that SAPP should have full entry into the coalition.

Said Sidek: "The tone Pakatan is taking is no different from that of Umno-BN. His (Karim's) invitation sounds like he's browbeating us, much like BN leaders.

"How will they (Pakatan) behave once they are in power? We don't want to be subservient."

He said SAPP did not want to be lumped together with the current state BN leaders who are constantly mocked for depending on Kuala Lumpur for all decisions.

Sidek, a former lecturer and magistrate, said that setting conditions and coercing others to kowtow did not augur well for state politics.

He added that whatever decision made by SAPP was based on feedback from supporters.

On Karim's argument that without being part of a team, small political groups will end up like Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Sidek said that what happened to SNAP in regard to the April 16 state election was due to a "haphazard negotiation".

"I was in Kuching at that time and was briefed by SNAP leaders that negotiations were done haphazardly…"

SNAP was seen as a member of Pakatan until weeks before the Sarawak state election when it pulled out, citing PKR's "arrogance" and disagreements over seat allocations.

All of SNAP's 26 candidates were defeated in the hat election, with 25 of them losing their deposits.

----------------New Sabah Times ---------------- By Michael Teh


SAPP Deputy President: We are determined not to repeat same mistake
22nd June, 2011

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) is determined not to repeat the same mistake made by Sabah leaders in the past.

“We made a mistake in the past, but we determine not to make mistake all the time,” said SAPP Deputy President, Hj Amdee Sidek.

He was responding to the recent statement by Datuk Karim Ghani, the newly-appointed strategist of Sabah PKR, that independent political parties should either join Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in facing the coming general election, for them to make an impact on the election results.

And in this respect, should SAPP decide to join PR, it should be a full entry and not under a ‘Pakatan Plus’ concept.

“His (Karim) invitation sounds a bit browbeating if not dictatorial, much like BN leaders to me, wonder how would they behave once they are in power,” said Amde.

He then noted that many Sabahans are now beginning to understand SAPP’s struggle.

“Many Sabahans understand better what SAPP is doing now that we don’t want to be subservient to leaders who think only they can do especially leaders we already know too well.

“Giving condition and coercing young politician like us may not augur well in our practice of politics,” he stressed.

Amde went on to note that currently there are two political schools in Sabah, one held by the old guards and other by young Sabahans.

“The old school seems to be too dependent to KL like what they did in the past, while the young of Sabahan are thinking that we are as good as any Malaysians, and let’s do it.

“Kelantan before joining PR were on its own. They managed to govern the state. I see no reason why Sabah people couldn’t do it,” he argued.

He further stressed that whatever decision made by SAPP was based on the feedback from the rakyat.

“It isn’t something fanciful, not from party leaders in SAPP, nor our response based on from people who frequently dine or having breakfast in 5-star hotels,” he quipped.

He also took a swipe at PKR Sabah leaders that they lacked credibility, citing the case of the Batu Sapi by-election last September.

“Briefly, I was in the negotiating table with PKR leaders before nomination day for Batu Sapi. Without going through the details, I would ask, who actually broke the promise soon after we left the table? Only Dr Jeffrey Kitingan was supportive of SAPP’s idea that day. Where is Dr Jeffery now? What I meant here is, PKR leaders in Sabah couldn’t and didn’t make outright decision. Second, had the culture of not keeping to their words and I’m hopeful that Datuk Karim could introduce new gentleman’s culture,” he explained.

On Karim’s notion that without being part of a team, any other small political groups will end up like SNAP (Sarawak National Party) in the recent Sarawak state election, Amde blamed it on a ‘haphazard negotiation’ between SNAP and PKR.

“I was in Kuching at that time and was briefed by SNAP leaders that negotiations were done haphazardly, a kind of enforcing ideas over one another, in the end the winner was the group with the louder voice.

“No doubt, there are still plenty of rooms for negotiation and I begin to know what negotiation is in politics with watchful ears, eyes and heart,” he said.