FORMER Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Tham Nyip Shen has outright ruled out his former party SAPP, in the burning of his car on Monday.
“It is highly unlikely that SAPP would do something so low. No matter how bad our relationship has become since I left the party in 2008, I firmly believe that it is just not their culture, especially knowing Datuk Yong (SAPP President) well.
“It is regrettable that many who called me, asked me if this is related to SAPP or Datuk Yong, to which I said no,” said Tham who is a former deputy president of SAPP.
He was responding to speculations in the market implicating SAPP behind the incident, adding that he regretted such a reaction from the public.
Tham also said he has no idea what was the motive behind such an act.
“Based on eye-witnesses’ accounts, they (the culprits) are not someone known to me. I can only assume that they have been hired to do the dirty job. I do not wish to make further speculation here. I believe the Police will do their investigation professionally, and I would like to urge everyone not to speculate, as it could jeopardize the ongoing investigation, as well as unnecessarily putting innocent people in bad light,” he said.
He noted that a police report has been lodged as soon as he arrived home upon returning from overseas, on Monday night, adding that he was glad that the police have found some leads towards the arsonists.
Tham further said such an incident has tarnished the good image of Sabah which is internationally-renowned for its humble-and-friendly people, besides its beautiful natural landscape.
“I feel that, if there is any conflict, it could have been resolved in a civilised manner. Resorting to such an uncivilized act will set Sabah further behind. Let this be the last uncivilised act,” he stressed.
While regretting that the vehicle, a Toyota Ninja King which was a company vehicle assigned for his use was badly damaged in the incident, he was consoled that no one was hurt.
In addition to this, he also thanked all those who have expressed concern over his safety and wellbeing, after the incident.
“I sincerely apologise to all those that I have not been able to thank personally, as apart from being shocked by what happened, I was also busy organising the necessary papers to facilitate the Police and Bomba investigation,” he explained.
No comments:
Post a Comment