Opposition leader and PKR de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim said today that negotiations with SAPP over the Batu Sapi by-election collapsed due to the Sabah party’s inability to commit to the Pakatan Rakyat agenda.

anwar ibrahim in miri Speaking at a conference after announcing Tuaran PKR chief Ansari Abdullah as the party’s candidate for the Nov 4 contest, Anwar ( left ) hinted that SAPP’s equivocation between remaining independent in relation to BN while declining to join the opposition coalition meant it could not contribute significantly to political change.   

“Officially, SAPP is independent. In the parliament, they never identify themselves as the opposition. So there is a difference - independent means they can choose to support either way,” said the Permatang Pauh member of parliament.

yong teck lee sabah sapp party pc 230409 02 Asked why negotiations with SAPP led by its Batu Sapi candidate Yong Teck Lee ( left ) broke down, Anwar hinted at the former BN component party’s desire not to burn bridges with the ruling coalition in charge of the Putrajaya.

“Apparently SAPP will not commit to participate or be part of Pakatan Rakyat, either at the national level or even at the state level. Therefore, we could not achieve an understanding.

“If you say you can't commit to be part of Pakatan Rakyat, can you say that you will not be part of BN?” asked the former deputy prime minister-turned opposition supremo.

Yong, a former deputy chief minister of Sabah, told a press conference earlier this week that his party saw no basis to change its decision to contest the by-election.

Yesterday, Yong announced he would be his party’s candidate on polling day Nov 4.

Anwar, however, declined to state categorically whether his party regarded SAPP as unreliable in terms of being a partner in Pakatan’s attempt to topple the BN-led government.

“As it stands, they have not given their commitment,” said the PKR chief.

Only a coalition can win power

At a ceramah organised earlier today, Anwar said SAPP could not offer any possibility of change at the federal level if it went at it alone as an independent against the BN.

Only a coalition of political parties such as Pakatan would have the strength to conquer Putrajaya, he said.

Tuaran division chief Ansari Abdullah "It must be (about) state autonomy and a national(-level) strategy. It cannot (remain) just at (the) local level like SAPP.

"If you want to win  (the state government of)  Kota Kinabalu and Putrajaya, it must be (through) Pakatan," said Anwar, who vowed to bring “the voice of Sandakan” and the people of Sabah into Parliament.

He also vowed that Sabah would be granted as much as 20 percent oil royalty and greater autonomy if Pakatan was to take over the federal government.

Meanwhile Ansari ( right ), the only bumiputera-Muslim candidate among the three candidates contesting the bumiputera-Muslim-majority seat of Batu Sapi, made much of his roots in Tuaran, that is around 500km from Sandakan.

"I am a son of Sabah. I represent Pakatan," the lawyer told the crowd.

This Batu Sapi by-election, he said further, is "Pakatan's second step to Putrajaya".

Also present at the ceramah was PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who described the  by-election as being important not only for Sabah but for the nation as a whole, given the impending 13th general election, expected to take place early next year.

The Pakatan campaign team for Batu Sapi was also announced as consisting of Hiew as the Pakatan coordinator, PKR Sabah chief Ahmad Thamrin Jaini as the campaign director and PKR Batu Sapi division chief Hassar Ebrahim as the operations director.