KOTA KINABALU – Sabah DAP adviser and former chairman Datuk Jimmy Wong has quit the party, saying he is fed up over what has become of the state chapter he founded back in 2007.
Wong, 72 – who was one of the first DAP leaders in Sabah – claimed his resentment largely stems from some of the good DAP leaders who had not been re-elected into the Sabah DAP committee yesterday.
“I feel like I have been released from hell. All the good brains are out. Are they not good DAP leaders? What have they done wrong for them to have been kicked out from the committee?” he told The Vibes this evening.
Wong said he is unhappy that Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong, former senator Adrian Lasimbang, state party Wanita chief Jannie Lasimbang, and Kota Kinabalu lawmaker Chan Foong Hin have been cast out.
“You know Chong is the hardest working YB in Sandakan. They killed all the good leaders in DAP. (Also,) Chan was my first disciple and he has done a good job in DAP.”
Wong said this is the second time that infighting has occurred within Sabah DAP, noting that the first one in 2016 saw him being ousted as state chapter chairman.
He said the infighting saw many good leaders such as Dr Edwin Bosi, Datuk Hiew King Cheu, and Junz Wong in Sabah DAP abandoning the party after the 2016 conflict.
“As a matter of fact, I was not even invited to the convention yesterday. I am the state adviser and they did not even invite me. Where is their courtesy?” said Wong, adding that newly-elected chairman Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung has treated him like a fool.
Wong – who was the first DAP assemblyman from Sabah in 2007 – said this is how DAP has repaid him after all the sacrifices he made for the party since day one.
This includes giving up his seat in Sri Tanjong to pave the way for Chan to contest in the seat during the 2013 election.
He said he was the one who groomed many leaders in Sabah DAP, including the late Stephen Wong – who replaced him as chairman – and current chairman Poon.
“I advised them not to dump all the veterans and brains in the party. But they did it again, kicking out all the good people in DAP,” he said.
Poon said he has yet to receive Wong’s resignation. However, Wong noted there’s no need for a letter, adding reports suffice to say that he has given up being part of Sabah DAP. – The Vibes, November 22, 2021
