KOTA KINABALU: Two children of former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee are on a journey to restore the political profile of their father's Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).
Lawyer Yong Yit Jee, 38, is up against Pakatan Harapan giant Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe in his father's one-time stronghold seat of Likas.
His sister Yvonne, 40, is standing in the east coast Lahad Datu seat of Segama, her father's birthplace.
Yit Jee admitted that it is an uphill struggle for the party to fully regain public confidence and a mandate from the voters, but not an impossible one.
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With younger voters and willingness from the older generation to listen and give them a chance to present themselves, he said the situation and acceptance for SAPP were better than expected.
"In the past, when we met people, they would only ridicule us, but now, during my short time campaigning and doing door-to-door visits, people actually stay and listen.
"In the past, they would laugh at us or refuse to engage, but now, they would recall how my father used to help them," said Yit Jee, who relies on a personal touch and social media platforms to get his message across.
Likas is seeing a six-way tussle, with Phoong moving from his "safe seat" of Luyang and educationist Tham Yun Fook joining the fray on a Parti Warisan ticket.
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Yit Jee said he was betting on the voters to give a newcomer like him a fighting chance.
Yvonne is also keeping a positive mindset towards the seven-cornered fight in Segama, emphasising the party's plans for the constituency's economic and infrastructure development.
"We assure the people that we are here to solve issues, for example, the squatter problem," she said, adding that the party's approach was to find the best solution for the betterment of the people and families involved.
With three days left for campaigning, she feels that her campaign activities are going well, with encouraging feedback from different communities, including the Bajau, Bugis, Chinese and Dusun.
Though Yvonne is a first-time candidate, she has been in politics for some years and is known to the different communities in the constituency.
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She is undaunted by the large number of candidates there, because most are new faces except for incumbent Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi (formerly of Warisan), who is contesting as an independent this time.
SAPP president Yong, who was chief minister from 1996 to 1998, won the Likas seat in 1985 and held it until 1999, before an election billboard offence barred him from contesting for five years.
He attempted comebacks in the Batu Sapi by-election in 2010 and subsequent state elections in 2013 and 2018, but was not successful.
He stayed out of the 2020 state election and was made a nominated assemblyman when Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor took over the state government.
