Young Sabahans have no desire to join the old political school which is to kowtow to Kuala Lumpur, says opposition SAPP.
KOTA KINABALU: Local opposition, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), will not compromise on its pledge for a politically autonomous Sabah.
"We made a mistake in the past… but we are determined not to do it this time. We will not bargain away the state," SAPP deputy president Amde Sidek said, adding that this was the reason why the party had decided not to join Pakatan Rakyat despite repeated calls by its leaders.
He said that Sabah must be allowed self-determination.
"There are two political schools now in Sabah. The old school seems to be too dependent on Kuala Lumpur, while the young are thinking that we are as good as any Malaysians, and let's do it (fight for autonomy).
"Kelantan before joining Pakatan was on its own. Similarly, I see no reason why Sabah people can't do the same thing," Sidek added.
He was commenting on Sabah PKR leader Karim Ghani's statement that independent political parties should either join Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan in facing the coming general election.
Karim also said that DAP's concept of a "Pakatan Plus" was unsatisfactory, adding that SAPP should have full entry into the coalition.
Said Sidek: "The tone Pakatan is taking is no different from that of Umno-BN. His (Karim's) invitation sounds like he's browbeating us, much like BN leaders.
"How will they (Pakatan) behave once they are in power? We don't want to be subservient."
He said SAPP did not want to be lumped together with the current state BN leaders who are constantly mocked for depending on Kuala Lumpur for all decisions.
Sidek, a former lecturer and magistrate, said that setting conditions and coercing others to kowtow did not augur well for state politics.
He added that whatever decision made by SAPP was based on feedback from supporters.
On Karim's argument that without being part of a team, small political groups will end up like Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Sidek said that what happened to SNAP in regard to the April 16 state election was due to a "haphazard negotiation".
"I was in Kuching at that time and was briefed by SNAP leaders that negotiations were done haphazardly…"
SNAP was seen as a member of Pakatan until weeks before the Sarawak state election when it pulled out, citing PKR's "arrogance" and disagreements over seat allocations.
All of SNAP's 26 candidates were defeated in the hat election, with 25 of them losing their deposits.
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