Sabah will definitely be represented in PH council — Chan

KOTA KINABALU: DAP Sabah secretary Chan Foong Hin said Sabah will definitely be represented in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council.

He said it was naive of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) vice president Datuk Chin Shu Ying to claim that Sabah will be left out.

“Either that or he (Chin) has run out of ideas that he is simply making claims like a political novice,” said Chan.

“To answer him straight, it is still too early to assume there will be no Sabah leaders in the Pakatan Harapan presidential council,” he added.

In a statement here yesterday, Chan said that for the information of the uninitiated and in this context, Chin, the 12-member PH presidential council name list was submitted to fulfil requirement of the Registrar of Societies (ROS) for approval.

“Definitely there will be representatives from Sabah once the ROS approved the application as more council members will be included,” he said.

Chan, who is Sri Tanjung assemblyman, reiterated that the PH is a coalition of equals and the PH has the Borneo agenda in mind.

For example, he said the PH Youth had proposed that 20 per cent oil royalty, 50 per cent of all taxes collected from Sabah and Sarawak be returned to state coffers, honouring the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) as well as for more autonomy via decentralisation of powers to Sabah and Sarawak.

Contrary to Chin’s contention, Chan said a true Malaysian won’t undermine Sabah and Sarawak interest even though he or she is not a Sabahan or Sarawakian.

He pointed to DAP’s veteran leader, Lim Kit Siang who had objected to the constitution amendment to downgrade Sabah and Sarawak equal partner status to becoming one of the 13 states in 1976.

“He (Lim) was the first MP to raise up the issue of Batu Sumpah, and now he is pushing for the agenda to install Tan Sri Richard Malanjun as the first Chief Judge from East Malaysia.

Chan said it was pointless to have so many Sabah and Sarawak leaders in the cabinet but none of them can protect our rights.

“They failed to stop any bill which is against the MA63 spirit, just like the recent issue of Tourism Tax.

He told Chin that the spirit of equal partnership is more important than the number of representatives in a political coalition.

Chan also rejected the notion that he has been polluted by Malaya mindset.

“Mine is a Malaysian Mindset that is cultivated in DAP. I always remember Lim Kit Siang’s core principle of a real Malaysian patriotic and that Malaysia belongs to Malaysians.

“A true patriotic Malaysian would uphold the principle of equality.

Chin on Wednesday said the Chan could not deny the absence of Sabahans in the core leadership of PH regardless his exaggeration that the newly-formed echelon is a strong line-up.

The LDP vice president pointed out that even Sarawak has a representative in the 12 main leadership positions.

“How can there be no Sabahan representative in the line-up despite repeated claims by Sabah opposition parties to defend our State’s rights?” he asked.