A file picture of Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (centre) with Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong (right), who joined Warisan after quitting Sabah DAP.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah DAP's move to forge a bipartisan memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the state level with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) was a clear move to split the Opposition in the state, says Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong.
Chong, who quit DAP to join Parti Warisan earlier this year, said that Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon's action to negotiate the bipartisan MOU was an act of splitting the Opposition at the state level.
He added that Poon was among those leading the state DAP in negotiations for a bipartisan MOU with the GRS-led Sabah government of Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor
"Yet he (Poon) is saying that Warisan is a Trojan horse in splitting the Opposition votes in the coming general election," Chong said in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 5).
The state government and the Sabah Pakatan MOU deal did not materialise following several rounds of informal talks between Hajiji and state Pakatan leaders.
Chong said Poon does not have the right to make such a statement against Warisan as he was pushing for the state-level MOU with the government.
He added that Poon was among those present with DAP’s then secretary-general Lim Guan Eng to meet with GRS chairman Hajiji for a "secret" meeting.
“I was in DAP at the time so I knew what was going on. Sabah DAP wanted a Sabah-level MoU with the state government after the federal MoU was signed between Pakatan Harapan and the federal government,” said Chong.
“But I did not participate in the meeting because I did not agree with the MOU. But Poon did (attend the meeting). They (Sabah DAP) had even prepared a draft of the MOU when meeting Hajiji,” he added.
“Now he (Poon) is calling Warisan a Trojan Horse when Warisan is the only party that refused such a deal with the state government," he said, adding that it was "absurd" for them to deal with the very people that toppled both the federal and state governments.
"If all parties began signing the MOU with the government, then what is the purpose of the Opposition parties and why would people still need to vote,” asked Chong.
Poon accused Pakatan's one-time ally Warisan of being a "Trojan Horse" after Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said that there was no point for people in Sabah to support Pakatan Harapan after it failed to ensure Sabah rights when it was government.
On this, Chong said that Poon's Trojan Horse claims against Warisan were similar to PAS for playing the "semua salah DAP (everything is DAP’s fault)" card to gain political mileage.
“I have nothing against Pakatan, DAP or Poon, I am merely stating facts,” he added.
