People disappointed with political parties and politicians – Yong

KOTA KINABALU (Sept 1): Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee said that ordinary people are disappointed with political parties and politicians.

He said there is growing disillusionment with politicians for not solving their livelihood problems, for not delivering on the promises to improve the lives of people and for not rising above political bickering.

“This disillusionment was starkly evident when ordinary people took the unprecedented step to present letters and petitions to no less than our beloved Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Permaisuri Agong when the royal convoy took extraordinary efforts to drive from Tawau in the East Coast to Kota Kinabalu and then to Sarawak last year,” he said.

“To me, it seems that ordinary people now deem it necessary to bring their problems directly to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Is it because the people have lost hope in bringing up problems to their elected representatives, political secretaries, and local officials? Was that an indictment of the political establishment? Let’s deeply reflect on this matter,” he said when officiating SAPP’s biennial delegates conference 2024 here today.

He added that some NGOs have surfaced to champion the causes of ordinary Sabahans, such as land issues, labour rights and social problems.

The burning issue of the 40 per cent net revenue entitlement under the Federal Constitution, which has become very dear to the hearts of every Sabahan, is taken up by a professional body, the Sabah Law Society, instead of by political entities.

Similarly, Yong said the high-stake issues of Sabah’s continental shelf and the rejection of the Territorial Sea Act 2012, are being taken up by an NGO, namely SABAR (Sabah Action Body Advocating Rights).

These actions reveal a growing trend whereby citizens and organizations deem it necessary for them to act directly to secure their rights, indicating a loss of faith in politicians to address their concerns effectively.

“Be that as it may, I welcome this trend whereby credible professional bodies and NGOs take actions to champion Sabah’s rights as this is a maturity in Sabah’s democracy. As president of a political party and as an assemblyman, I dare say that we, SAPP, must self-reflect on the real situation.

“I urge our members to self-reflect on whether SAPP, as a political party, and other political parties are losing the trust of ordinary people. I believe that it is still not too late for SAPP, and other parties, to wake up to the probability that the political establishment needs to regain or to strengthen the trust that people should have of the political establishment,” he said.

According to Yong, the fall of that federal government gave rise to a new alignment of politics in Malaysia, that made it conducive for SAPP to rejoin the federal mainstream without having to return to the old order or to compromise on its core principles of Sabah autonomy and Sabah rights.

SAPP, he added, has achieved two of the several key issues it championed. The gazetting of Sabah Day this year caps a 12-year struggle by SAPP and STAR to make it official.

The publication of the Double Six air crash report was another milestone that nobody had thought possible, Yong said.

“We thank the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor for his dedication to the successful gazetting of Sabah Day. We also want to extend our gratitude to Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, President of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), for his effort in the shared struggle,” he said.

“The key issues that remain are the return of Labuan, Sabah IC and land reforms. A new topic that has been approved by the Supreme Council is to revert the title of our Head of State to Tuan Yang Terutama Negara (instead of TYT Negeri). SAPP has written to top GRS parties on this TYT Negara proposal and we will earnestly pursue these issues,” he added.

“The 3Ss (Territorial Security, Energy Security and Food Security) that the 2022 congress had approved to take up are all on going. Suffice to report for now, that Sabah has regained regulatory autonomy over the energy sector by establishing the Energy Commission of Sabah. Much work remains to be done and the Supreme Council shall do our part accordingly,” he stressed.

According to the nominated assemblyman, SAPP can become even stronger when it jointly builds teams with fellow GRS parties and as such, it has embarked on joint team building with USNO, to strengthen their cooperation at all levels of the parties.

The ongoing joint Sumondot Sabah Day program is another testimony of the success of SAPP’s joint activities with STAR, said Yong and he expressed confidence that more joint programs will be conducted with USNO, STAR and other GRS parties towards the aim of strengthening GRS.

Speaking to reporters later, Yong said SAPP had proposed to GRS leaders to set up a technical committee to look into the return of Labuan as well as another committee so that Sabah IC can be implemented in the state.

“Thirdly because there are still some remaining land issues, especially in the rural areas, affecting natives, we are now reminding the government that we have to address the issue of land reform as there is an increasing number of accusations of land grab.

“Whether allegations of land grab company leaders are true or not, it must be investigated thoroughly. And the answer must be made known to the people concerned. At the same time, land reform to ensure that people who need land will have land. Sabahans who need land will have land,” he said.