KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) believes that Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is an inclusive leader who will act as a leader for all Sabahans.
Its president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee also said he does not expect any change in the inclusive nature of Hajiji’s government. This comes despite the absence of any representative of the Chinese community in the newly sworn-in Sabah Cabinet.
Yong, a former Chief Minister, noted that the previous complete absence of Chinese in the Sabah cabinet first happened after the September 2020 state elections.
The community, he said, was understandably upset about the defections that caused the collapse of the then Warisan–Pakatan Harapan government.
"But as Chinese community leaders know, Hajiji is an inclusive leader who acts as a leader for all Sabahans. The Chinese community was not left out of mainstream development.
"As for the next five years, I do not expect any change in the inclusive nature of the Sabah government," Yong said in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 2).
The newly-sworn in Sabah cabinet comprises Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), Upko, Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional. Yong added that Hajiji also has many political heavyweights and complex issues to manage.
"At the end of the day, the incumbent Chief Minister has to consider where his support came from and who can help stabilise his government. That explains the composition of the current Cabinet, which by constitution and by convention is the absolute discretion of the Chief Minister," he said.
Yong said the outcome of recent and previous Sabah state elections have shown that the Chinese community is not bound by a rigid loyalty to any party.
"In the same way that the Chinese vote bank is not DAP’s fixed-deposit, it is also not Warisan nor anybody’s fixed deposit," he said, referring to the recent polls where Sabah DAP lost all to Warisan in all the eight seats it had contested in.
Among the big names that lost were deputy Federal Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin in Tanjung Aru, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong in Elopura and Sabah DAP chief Phoong Jin Zhe in Likas.
He also said the recent polls showed who the huge majority of Chinese voters wanted as Chief Minister.
"That leader boasted about their achievements in garnering unprecedented Chinese support but the harsh reality is that he has brought the Chinese community to the opposition again," he said, referring to Warisan’s sweeping win in traditional DAP strongholds.
