PN must represent all M’sians, Azmin says after SAPP leaves coalition

Summary:

• PN secretary-general Azmin Ali emphasises his coalition's intention to contest the Sabah state election.

• He says it is unfair to only allow regional parties to stand in Sabah polls.

• Bersatu supreme council member Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal calls the withdrawal long overdue

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Perikatan Nasional, as a national coalition, must represent all Malaysians, including those in Sabah and Sarawak, said its secretary-general Azmin Ali.

He said this following Sabah Progressive Party’s (SAPP) withdrawal from PN, citing its dissatisfaction with the coalition's intention to contest in the next Sabah state election.

Azmin (above) told Malaysiakini that the coalition fielded Sabahans in the previous state election, leading to strong cooperation between the state and federal governments.

"To suggest that the state elections should be only for local parties - I don't think that is fair to Sabahans.

"Because in the last state election, when PN was formed for barely a month, we secured the mandate from the Sabahan people to govern Sabah.

"That shows the level of maturity of Sabahans because PN is a national party and Sabahans need a strong partner from the peninsula for the interest of the state and also the people," he said.

After taking SAPP out of PN, party president Yong Teck Lee said this was due to PN's intention to contest the Sabah state election, a move that contradicts his party's principles.

He further urged the Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan) supreme council to resolve any uncertainties over its ties with Pakatan Harapan.

Last month, PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin said his coalition will campaign on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 in the Sabah election, which must be held by December 2025.

‘Long overdue’

Touching on the matter, Bersatu supreme council member Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal was less diplomatic over SAPP’s decision, saying the party’s withdrawal was long overdue.

"They have been playing both sides of the divide," he told Malaysiakini.

The Machang MP claimed that SAPP had never committed to PN after the last general election.

"They want to be with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) more and issued many contradictory statements about PN’s position in Sabah," he said.

SAPP was the opposition coalition's sole component party in Sabah.

Formerly a part of the BN coalition, SAPP was affiliated with both PN and GRS.

Yong, who is a former Sabah chief minister, had in September called on PN to stay out of the next state election.

However, this was met with a stern response from PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, whose party holds the biggest number of parliamentary seats in the coalition.

"It will be up to us to decide. Not them," the Marang MP said.

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