SANDAKAN – The Sandakan Municipal Council (SMC) removed structures displaying and promoting political logos of opposition parties DAP and Warisan in Bandar Letat, Mile 3 here, this morning.
DAP’s Sandakan MP Vivian Wong broke into tears as she stood helpless, watching about 30 local authority personnel removing a seven-ft-tall rocket structure and several smaller ones that had been erected on empty land in front of her office during the 14th general election in 2018.
The structures made of oil drums were put together by Sabah DAP volunteers to show support to Vivian’s father, the late Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt, who was at the time Sabah DAP chairman and Sandakan MP.
According to Vivian, the Sandakan Municipal Council’s (SMC) given reason for doing so was that the area is an open space that does not allow the setting up of non-public facilities.
Vivian said it was an emotional moment to see the rocket structure fall as she recalled her father’s struggle for democracy. She claimed that it shows how DAP is suppressed in politics.
It reminded her of how Pakatan Harapan (PH) had fallen because of the Sheraton Move – just like the “fall of the rocket” before her eyes today.
“Political oppression has removed this rocket, our logo, which has stood for five years here,” she told The Vibes.
In 2018, her father Stephen managed to defend the Sandakan seat and saw the change of government when the Barisan Nasional government was toppled by Warisan Plus.
Unfortunately, he passed away in March 2019, and his seat was then won by Vivian during the Sandakan by-election of 2019.
Vivian said that she was informed by the SMC of its plan to remove the structure, and after pleading her case multiple times, she knew that it was impossible to stop it.
Respecting the council’s decision, Vivian and her staff stood quietly nearby while they watched SMC personnel remove the rocket structure.
“It is sad that the giant rocket sign cannot withstand the ‘pressure’ of SMC or certain political party, a sad case for our democratic politics. It is merely a rocket structure made by volunteers out of oil drums, which did not obstruct sight or traffic. In fact, it had become the landmark of Bandar Letat.
“Does the giant rocket make your city councillors or politicians uneasy?” she questioned.
SMC’s priorities politicised, says Warisan rep
Meanwhile, Warisan’s Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong expressed disappointment that the Warisan logo structure placed next to the rocket structure was similarly removed by SMC.
He said the structure which had been placed on the empty land for the past three years was never an obstruction to drivers, but SMC insisted that it be removed by saying that they received instructions from their “higher-ups”.
“This isn’t what the people want, and it will not make the people’s lives better. There are a lot of other works awaiting SMC to take action. Why focus on a mere logo?” he said in a statement today.
Chong said the incident seemed to show that SMC has been politicised, and only working based on the instructions from a ruling party, and not working for the people.
“Is it not their job to develop Sandakan? Serve the people? Why does it now seem that SMC is working for a government party?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Sabah DAP chairman cum Tanjong Papat rep Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung also criticised the SMC for ignoring urgent repair works on public facilities, but spending resources to remove political logo structures.
“What was the SMC thinking? Does the SMC have nothing better to do? What a shame on the SMC,” he said in a statement today.
For instance, he said, several bridges in the Kg Sim Sim water village have been collapsing one after another since September last year, severely impacting the villagers.
“Are these repair works not more important than demolishing the rocket structures?” he said.
Poon stressed that it is time for the people to see how the government is incapable and has no sense of direction in serving the community.
He added that local councillors should be elected, rather than appointed, so that they are more service-oriented, rather than being focused on playing politics. –The Vibes, July 30, 2022
