KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) delegates are expected to debate the party’s political alignment at the state and national level during its annual congress on Nov 1.
Party information chief Chin Vui Kai said its supreme council decided to leave the decision on SAPP’s political direction to the delegates.
"Whether SAPP should align with any national political bloc or insist on aligning only with Sabah-based parties is a question on the minds of our members," he said on Wednesday (Oct 14).
SAPP, led by former chief minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, was a member of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) but left the coalition prior to last year’s state election.
The party did not win any seats in the polls.
Chin said members were now interested to see if or how SAPP would align with other parties or political blocs in Sabah ahead of the coming 16th General Election.
"Although SAPP has no elected representatives in the state assembly or Parliament, the party has always played a key role in shaping the political landscape.
"It was SAPP’s withdrawal from the then-ruling Barisan Nasional in 2008, under the slogan 'Window of Opportunity for MA63', that set the political trend we see today.
"Most other political parties now championing MA63 only jumped on the bandwagon after Barisan fell in 2018," he added.
Chin said 316 delegates would attend the party’s one-day congress in Kota Kinabalu, which is also expected to elect a new supreme council for a four-year term.
"A new line-up will be unveiled at the congress, as... an election (is coming). Based on nominations from party branches, almost 50% of the incoming council members are young people who came up from the party’s youth camps.
"SAPP has been organising youth camps for the past 30 years. These young leaders, who fully understand SAPP’s political culture, Sabah’s political history and the meaning of MA63, will form the core of the party’s future," Chin said.
