KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee must explain his position to the central Perikatan Nasional (PN) regarding his proposal for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to contest in all 73 state constituencies in Sabah in the next election.
Sabah PN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said Yong’s proposal was made in SAPP’s capacity as a member of the ruling GRS in Sabah without considering the position of the party (SAPP), which is part of PN at the federal level.
“Sabah PN also emphasises that no party can stop other political parties, including PN, from taking part in the democratic process in Sabah,” he said in a statement today.
On Sunday (Aug 13), Yong, who is also GRS deputy president, said the coalition must contest in all 73 Sabah state constituencies in the next state election and there was no need to negotiate with non-local parties for cooperation in the election.
According to Ronald, PN intends to strengthen its position in all states, including Sabah.
Meanwhile, Yong said in the statement today that the proposal was an internal matter for SAPP and its partners in GRS and other parties should not interfere
The component parties of GRS, which helms the state government, are Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, SAPP, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), United Sabah National Organisation (USNO), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS) and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
SAPP is also a PN component party at the federal level with Bersatu, PAS and Gerakan.-Bernama