By Queville To
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah DAP wants fellow opposition party Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) to make public its intention if it will join forces with Pakatan Rakyat in the next election.
A failure to do so would be seen as spoiling the opposition coalition’s chances of winning, warned Sabah DAP publicity secretary Dr Edwin Bosi.
Pakatan Rakyat, a coalition of the three major national parties - DAP, PAS and PKR - has announced that it is going for a one-to-one fight against the BN in the coming 13th general election, scheduled to be held before April 2013.
The decision makes it crucial for SAPP to state its stance, said Bosi in a statement issued here over the weekend.
"What is so difficult in making that stance? SAPP will be seen as splitting opposition votes if they are not with Pakatan,” he said.
Bosi was responding to a recent statement by SAPP vice president Amde Sidek who criticised Sabah DAP chief Dr Hiew King Cheu for saying that SAPP would split the opposition votes if it is not with the Pakatan.
“The call by Hiew for SAPP to make its stance is timely and proper. He is after all the sole Pakatan Rakyat MP in Sabah,” contended Bosi.
He said SAPP must be fair to the people of Sabah by making its stand clear on whether they are with PR, or were on their own as an opposition.
“If SAPP is with Pakatan Rakyat, the opposition in Sabah can work out and agree on the seat allocation for a one-to-one fight with BN.
"It is important for SAPP to publicly confirm and assure the people that it will never re-join BN after the seats allocation has been finalised,” he said.
SAPP has two Pakatan-friendly MPs - Eric Majimbun in Sepanggar and Chua Soon Bui in Tawau.
The party left BN after the March 2008 general election, citing a loss of confidence in the then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
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