SAPP STILL MAKES DR JEFFERY HEADACHE?

By : AMDE SIDIK

Sipitang:  The Chairman of the STAR, Sabah Chapter, Datuk Dr Jeffery said that SAPP still makes him headache. “It’s SAPP that bothers me,” he said, in a statement yesterday-online media. (Jeffrey’s twin‘thorns’ – Bumburing, SAPP) FMT Staff, July 5, 2012) I wasn’t sure how to respond to his statement usually SAPP leaders would just keep quiet. Perhaps this time let me take it lightly but respectfully.

Sabah Progressive Party SAPP’s leaders so far are quite coherent and tactfully consistent in handling sticky issues which likely to cause uneasiness among fellow oppositions.

For SAPP nothing is more important than sticking together, not just within the party (SAPP) but also to all opposition parties in Sabah. Because work to defeat BN is so great the task, we therefore cannot effort to waste our energy and time unnecessarily.

But sometimes being tactful could also lead to all kind of interpretations.  Construed arrogant, incorporative or greedy and so forth. 

To be frank, SAPP (Bumiputra) leaders are too preoccupied with their works and this is one of reasons why they could not care or less what others are saying.

Referring to what Dr Jeffery was saying that SAPP is encroaching into KDM areas. To me this sounds a bit odd if not old fashion, we really are that divided, a kind of untouchable territory? Have we not enough of what UMNO has done to us?

SAPP has started working to prepare for general Election three years ago, soon it got out of BN, and the idea behind was, to avoid the need of people to parachute to becoming candidates at the last hour.  Meaning, SAPP leaders have been where they are now for the last three years doing their work. If the party thinks they deserved to be selected for candidates, I would say then off they go.

While a great many of them are party workers who have no intention of becoming candidates, but equally work as hard as the leaders and we have so many of them found all over: urban, semi urban or rural kampongs and this is what we think we really are, propagating non-racial politics.

Of course for all intent and practical purposes it may not work hundred percent today, this is due to many reasons we all knew, one of them, the stereotype idea engrained in our old leaders’ mentality, but if we do not do today we will never start anyway.

In short, if SAPP is contesting in KDM areas, it is because SAPP has KDM leaders in that areas and I do not think there is such thing as territory exclusiveness belonging to a particular political party.

I would like to make it absolutely clear; we are friends to all opposition but UMNO (ABU).

When Dr Jeffery said he has a headache, I don’t exactly know what he means because the last time we met, only a couple of weeks ago everything was all right.

We do not change our mind for the sake of changing, because it could confuse people.

Time and time again we have said the same thing, we made known to public, three years ago, we began with our eight points declarations and now we have a comprehensive party manifesto, with extensive descriptions on economic and land matters.

SAPP would contest in places where it has prepared, and SAPP wasn’t born three months ago.

SAPP members have been on the ground zero tirelessly for the last 3 years. Was hard work at the beginning, but we see the fruit of our labour now.

Of course, many of our leaders are not in the limelight of media, eighty percent of our activities never reported, especially those in the interior and rural kampongs, but that did not bother us before, so is now.

No Internet access in the interior and remote kampongs does not help us opposition at all.