Gerakan too, wanted to leave once

This was in 1990 when Sabah’s PBS joined Tengku Razaleigh’s then Gagasan Rakyat. The strategy was to catch BN with their pants down in the general elections that year.


On Pakatan lauds Sapp's bravery

Choo Sing Chye: After the 1990 general elections, Tengku Razaleigh came to Ipoh and we, the late P Patto, Ngoi Thiam Woh and I met Razaleigh at the Ipoh Casuarina Hotel for an informal meeting. The revelation that Tengku Razaleigh made, surprised us all.

During the 1990 elections, Razaleigh and Lim Kit Siang flew to Sabah to receive Pairin into the Gagasan Rakyat fold..The PBS under Pairin had agreed to leave BN and join Gagasan Rakyat bringing along the state of Sabah. This defection was kept in secrecy, nobody knew about it, not even the BN.

After this, Razaleigh was supposed to fly to Johor to meet up with leaders of another major party from the Peninsular Malaysia who had shown interest in defecting to the Gagasan Rakyat. That party was Gerakan.

All things were running smoothly until Pairin made public the PBS’s defection and everything fell apart with the meeting with the Gerakan was called off. If Pairin had withheld the announcement, Gagasan Rakyat would have two states in its pouch before the polling day.

The strategy was that Razaleigh would announce the defections on polling day and hoped to catch the BN with its pants down. But the early announcement gave the BN ample time to muster its propaganda machine to attack Razaleigh with fraudulent claims that Gagasan was Christian-ising the Malays. In the end, the Malays left Gagasan in droves.

Pat Lu: It’s not just the PM but an Umno-led government that's pulling the entire nation down. All BN component parties should expel Umno from BN instead. Alternatively, join PR and do the right thing to save our country from turmoil now. They have to drop all their differences and work as a team to save the nation now.

Alex C: BN has always maintained that all members of the coalition are equal; yet to date all we have seen is they expect every other coalition to 'kow-tow' to them. To date, what we have seen is that every member of the coalition has to give in to their whims and demands.

Most notable was the rhetoric from Khairy of the Umno Youth wing that does not even show respect for the MCA which is more senior than them. Now, they expect SAPP to pretend to be happy and keep quiet when there is so much issues at hand?

Secondly, where is the democracy when not a single elected member may speak out openly? BN takes action on members who are speaking out the truth on sentiments of the people, as seen on some of the suspension dealt on previous members. So, what is the difference between our democracy in BN compared to communism where everyone has to follow the leader?

Thirdly, BN reneged on their promises to PAS previously and left them in the lurch yet no action was taken against them. Now, Sapp is merely voicing out the people's sentiments; yet they are now looking at what possible actions can be taken against them.

This proves the double standard of our government and their inability to grasp the current issue at hand. How can they properly manage a nation like this? BN claims they are always championing the people but is this truly the case?

What Umno is portraying now is that they are more willing to stay in power by keeping every party in check instead of addressing the issue that are plaguing the nation.

PSD: I'm just curious that the media seems to pay more attention to Sapp's pullout from the BN.

Why has nobody bothered to say something about the issues raised by Sapp which led to this pullout? If their issues are true then their action is justified and I totally agree with their action.

Garry Khoo: First of all, the rakyat here would like to salute SAPP for voicing up on having ‘no confidence’ in our ruling party. How come the ruling government could not fulfill Sapp requests for the past 20 over years?

The worst is that MCA, MIC and Gerakan still remain as ‘yes men’ to Umno in spite of the general election setback.

I personally feel that BN still cannot let go of the arrogance with which they ruled the country. Let it be. The rakyat will let them know again at the 13th general election - if they are still around that is.


On Sapp's 14-point demands

Joe Fernandez: Labuan should not be made into an issue. Brunei ceded Labuan to the British as a naval station. When the Colonial Office in London bought Sabah from a bankrupt British North Borneo Company for 1.2 million pounds after World War II, the British administered

Labuan and Sabah jointly until Malaysia was formed.

Kuala Lumpur decided to maintain the status quo until Haris Salleh and Mahathir agreed, at Samy Vellu's suggestion, to the handover of Labuan to the federal government as a federal territory. The rest is history.

Labuan is not the only FT. The others are Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The question of ‘returning’ Labuan to Sabah does not arise. Labuan has never really been part of Sabah throughout its history.


On BN partners come to PM's support

Hamisu: Well, well. Samy Vellu has done it again. I never realised we ever had any election for the post of prime minister. I think Samy Vellu is getting old when he says ‘We will not let the prime minister down because he was elected by the people’.

Shall we start to have election for post of prime minister as suggested by dear old Samy?

Incredible to think that in the US, even a black might be the future president. Now, that's what I call great! Let the people who can do the job best take up the post.


On BN: No action against Sapp for now

Peter Ooi: In the past, Sapp would not see the daylight of itself. Umno would clamour for its expulsion while MCA , Gerakan and MIC would scream that Yong Teik Lee be expelled. All meetings and discussions on the issue would be non-existent.

The very fact that the ‘tough guy’ by BN component parties is absent goes on to show that the government is weak. It is time that BN admit its weaknessess and have them corrected quick and fast.

Any leader who finds himself not able to perform should voluntarily resign. By allowing this crisis to drag on, the real victims would be the ordinary rakyat who are already finding it extremely hard to make ends meet.

Investors would shy away from us. Some of the existing investors may want to relocate to other country. Thus more jobs would be lost.


On MCA can't turn multiracial until Umno does

Kenny Gan: Yap Pian Hon's assertion that MCA can't turn multiracial until Umno does has no basis. There is no reason why MCA cannot take the lead instead of waiting for Umno. MCA should fight for social issues irrespective of race.

According to Yap, if MCA also fights for Malays, they will turn around and say, ‘why do I need you to represent me? I already have Umno’. Nice try, but there is no disadvantaged group which will do that. They welcome all the help they can get.

Do we find Indians rebuffing DAP for speaking up over the Hindraf 5 ISA detention because they already have MIC?

Yap seems to be operating under the long-standing mental construct of each race fighting for its own rights and privileges. Instead of moving away to a better system, he is imprisoned by it.

Fifty years of racial politics has taken its toll on the nation in terms of racial disunity, flight of human capital, lack of meritocracy, declining academic standards, racially-lopsided policies and reduced competitiveness. Do we want another 50 years of the same?

Instead of waiting for Umno to change, parties like MCA and MIC should take the lead. Umno will eventually be forced to change or fade to irrelevance.

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