SAPP: Fear not, fight on for Sabah
Kota Kinabalu, Monday, 29 September 2025:
Sabahan political leaders, such as STAR President Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, fighting for Sabah rights must continue to do so without fear or favour because Sabah history shows that it is the standard tactic of the federal government to use “stick and carrots” to subdue Sabahans’ long outstanding claim to get back our Sabah rights and resources.
Having been in politics for forty years, serving both in government and in opposition, I can say with certainty that Sabahans are now witnessing another round of the weaponisation of law enforcement agencies, such as MACC, to instill the fear factor among Sabah political leaders so that we toe the federal line to or else we will suffer the dire consequences.
To put it simply, toeing the federal line means that no action will be taken against the leaders concerned. Going against the federal line could result in criminal prosecutions.
It happened to me in June 2008, SAPP leaving BN
I can testify my own bitter experience of June 2008 when SAPP was about to leave the then ruling BN government. In March 2008, BN had lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time in its history. I called that the “Window of Opportunity” for Sabah to claim back our rights and resources.
As news surfaced that SAPP and our two MPs were about to announce a vote of confidence against the then Prime Minister on 18 June 2008, I received a faxed letter dated 17 June 2008 from the Prime Minister’s Office (marked RAHSIA) nominating me as a Senator.
At the time in June 2008, I was strongly advised by my party HQ officers not to release the letter because the letter was classified as RAHSIA (SECRET). But in the light of the current political tension in Sabah, and because it is high time for the people of Sabah to understand how the politics of federalism works against Sabah rights and interests, I have a duty to release the letter.
Feeling that the nomination of senatorship was an attempted bribery, I felt insulted and rejected the nomination. The following day (June 18), SAPP went ahead with our public announcement of no confidence in the then PM.
Strangely, two days later, on 20 June 2008, at 12:32 pm, the then Director of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), announced that
“Yong Teck Lee kini disiasat kerana terbabit satu kes rasuah membabitkan RM5 juta…..” going back to 1996 (twelve years earlier) when I was Chief Minister.
I had, and still have, nothing to fear because I know for a fact that there was never any such corruption. I later realised that the news of me being investigated for corruption was intended to scare other political leaders, especially Members of Parliament, from joining the move to support the no confidence in the then PM. Apparently, that scare tactic worked.
It is a laughable contradiction that the ACA wanted to investigate me because I needed to be cleared by ACA and other law enforcement agencies before I (or anyone else) could be nominated for a senatorship.
In fact, after the news of the ACA wanting to investigate me, I took the initiative to call the ACA Director at Kota Kinabalu whether they wanted to take my statement. I offered to attend at the ACA office because I was about to travel to the UK for the university graduation of my son. I did not want to be stopped at the KK airport when I travelled. The ACA director told me that they had no plans to take my statement.
Federal bullying tactics must be stopped
This is how federal bullying works. But, federal bullying can succeed only if we Sabahans allow it to succeed. Federal bullying will not stop but we Sabahans can stop the bullying.
We must have leaders who dare to face the fear factor and to expect no favours. When there is not fear factor, fear tactics will not work.
Seventeen years have passed, and still I see that the same old federal bullying tactics are being used against Sabahan leaders.
Feeling sad and distressed that the younger generation of Sabahans might not fully understand how the federal systems can work against Sabah, I want to encourage Sabahans and our leaders to fear not and to fight on.
Do not negotiate out of fear
In fighting for Sabah rights, we can rely on the MA63 and federal constitution that set out the process in managing state-federal relationship. Malaysian federalism is similar to the federations of Canada, India and Australia, all of whom are commonwealth countries like Malaysia. What is crucial for our Sabah government leaders is to keep in mind what former US president JF Kennedy said DO NOT FEAR TO NEGOTIATE, BUT DO NOT NEGOTIATE OUT OF FEAR.
Datuk Yong Teck Lee
President, SAPP
Ex-Chief Minister 28 May 1996 – 27 May 1998