KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee (pic) was returned unopposed as the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president at the party's congress on Saturday (Sept 3).
He will serve his eighth consecutive term, which also means that he is one of the longest-serving party chiefs in the state.
Yong has led SAPP for the last 28 years since founding it in 1994 after breaking away from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).
The 64-year-old was the chief minister under the Barisan Nasional two-year rotation system from 1996 to 1998.
He was barred from contesting in elections for five years for an illegal billboard offence during the 1999 General Election.
In 2008, he pulled his party out of Barisan over unhappiness with the then-leadership of prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
From then, SAPP’s political fortunes floundered during its time in the Opposition, with the party not winning any seat despite contesting in the 2013 and 2018 general polls.
In 2020, SAPP became a Perikatan Nasional component member before joining the loose Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition that toppled the state Warisan Plus government in the snap Sabah election that year.
Though his party did not win any seats, Yong was appointed as a nominated assemblyman.
Yong, who began his political career aged 28 when he won the Likas state seat on a PBS ticket, showed little signs of slowing down when he told members that resilience was part of the party’s culture.
“We have fought and lost, fallen and got up, we have been beaten and we have fought back. I am proud that SAPP remains a vibrant party full of energy,” said Yong.
“To loyal members, I say thank you. To everyone, I say we, the SAPP family, have a heart of steel,” he added when delivering his policy speech, to loud applause from the audience.
Another Sabah leader, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup has also continued to hold the presidency of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) for 28 years.
Kurup, 77, had taken over PBRS in 1994 after leaving PBS led by Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.
Pairin, 82, who formed and led PBS in 1984, retired as party president in 2018 after 39 years at the helm.
