SANDAKAN – DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng has said they are confident of keeping the Sandakan parliamentary seat in the next election, after the defections of two state assemblymen to fellow opposition party Warisan.
In January, Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong Ket Kiun and Sri Tanjong representative Justin Wong announced that they quit the party. They formally joined Warisan on Saturday.
Lim said his visit to Sandakan was to show the central leadership’s support in the aftermath of the defections, but he was pleasantly surprised by the members’ strong support and motivation.
“We wanted to cheer them up, motivate our members in Sandakan. Turns out, their motivation, support, and loyalty had in turn motivated us to fight harder to win the coming general election, and take over Putrajaya,” he told reporters after a party dinner last night.
The Sandakan parliament seat is held by Vivian Wong Shir Yee, who won the seat in a 2019 by-election after the sudden death of her father and predecessor, Datuk Stephen Wong.
Elopura is one of two state constituencies under Sandakan, the other being Tanjong Papat, which is held by Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon.
Elopura representative Chong had said that he quit the party as he felt unappreciated, and that he was sidelined by the state leadership despite winning his constituency in 2018 and 2020.
Lim said the two defectors should have sorted out their differences with the party’s state leadership internally, instead of airing dirty laundry in public.
“You resolve these differences yourself. You must not use that as an excuse to betray the mandate of the people, and the very principles you stand for when you joined the party,” Lim said.
“You represent the party and what the party stands for. When you leave the party after people chose you, you betray the people’s mandate and trust,” he said, adding that he hoped the proposed anti-party hopping bill is passed by Parliament when it is tabled on April 11.
Asked about DAP’s relationship with Warisan, Lim said it is up to the state leadership to decide on whether they will work with their erstwhile partners in the coming general election. – The Vibes, March 31, 2022
