TAWAU – A former DAP state assemblyman who quit the party to later join Warisan with another member insists that their case should not be compared with the three representatives who more recently left Warisan to become independents supporting Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
Sri Tanjong assemblyman Justin Wong said that he and Elopura representative Calvin Chong had quit DAP in January last year, but the circumstances were different.
“How can one say that we had received remuneration to join Warisan when we left an opposition party (DAP) to another opposition party (Warisan)?
“If we left DAP because of some offers, we would have joined the government,” he said in a statement today.
Wong was commenting on an assertion by PBS’ Tawau MP Lo Su Fui in Parliament last Wednesday, in which Lo asked Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal to present evidence that the three assemblymen left Warisan because they were offered remunerations.
Lo said Shafie should not make such allegations, as no one had made a similar claim when Wong and Chong quit DAP to join Warisan.
Wong said he was surprised when Lo suddenly mentioned him and Chong during the Dewan Rakyat debate. He accused Lo of trying to divert from the real issue – that the three Warisan assemblymen could have been offered remunerations to support GRS.
Last week, Norazlinah Arif (Kunak assemblyman), Ben Chong (Tanjong Kapor), and Mohamad Mohamarin (Banggi) left Warisan to support GRS as independent reps.
Shafie then claimed the three former Warisan leaders had been bought.
Meanwhile, Wong reiterated that he left DAP because he disagreed with the party’s intention to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GRS, which was against his principles.
“My departure from DAP had attracted a lot of ‘offers’ from the ruling parties but I chose to join Warisan after declaring (myself) independent for a few months as I was assured that Shafie stood firm not to sign an MoU with GRS led by Hajiji (Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor),” he said.
He also backed Shafie’s statement when responding to Lo that he and Chong had decided to join Warisan because they had won their seats during the Sabah election in 2020 under Warisan’s ticket.
“I stress again that we have never received any offer for money or position to join Warisan,” he added.
Wong and Chong had given separate explanations for their reasons to leave DAP in January last year. – The Vibes, February 17, 2023.
