Kota Kinabalu, Saturday, 3 May 2025:
Recent reports highlight a disturbing trend: political parties seem to be focused only on claiming seats in the upcoming Sabah State Assembly elections, rather than clearly articulating their core struggles and strategies for the state.
This rush to acquire positions unfortunately mirrors the chaotic and unproductive image of “dogs chasing cars.” A dog chases cars every day but once the dog has caught up with the car, the dog has no idea what to do. It’s has no purpose in chasing the car. This is an anecdote to describe political parties and politicians who chase after posts but have no idea what to do.
It is disheartening to see a situation where the pursuit of power seems to overshadow the crucial need for parties and leaders to demonstrate a deep understanding of Sabah’s challenges and give well-defined solutions, within this window of opportunity to fulfill MA63.
When the primary focus is merely on obtaining seats, without a clear articulation of one’s core struggles and plans, it risks reducing the democratic process to a meaningless chase for power.
The people of Sabah deserve to make informed decisions based on a clear understanding of each party’s core struggles principles and proposed actions, not simply the ambition to occupy a seat.
The 73 seats belong to the people, not parties
It should be highlighted that once the State Legislative Assembly has been dissolved, all the 73 seats are returned to the people. The seats are no longer held by politicians or political parties. It is then up to the people to elections their representatives and the government via the ballot box.
As for SAPP, we already clearly published our 7-point core struggles for this coming Sabah state elections. The focus includes political autonomy, whereby GRS as the local-party coalition government should contest all 73 seats.
Other core struggles are namely land reformation with lands for Sabahans, Sabah IC, MA63 issues, revert TYT Negara title, return Labuan to Sabah, and securing 35% Parliamentary seats for Borneo states.
SAPP, as a disciplined and progressive party, will continue to pursue our core struggles for the coming elections irrespective of seats sharing or no seat sharing.
Datuk Yong Teck Lee
President of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP)