Press Statement by DAP Secretary-General and MP for Bagan, Lim Guan Eng in Kuala Lumpur on 21.8.2020

DAP will call a Central Executive Committee meeting on Monday to discuss the Sabah State general elections following the Kota Kinabalu High Court decision this morning, dismissing an application led by former Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman’s to disallow the dissolution of the Sabah state legislative assembly.

The Election Commission had fixed September 12 for nomination and September 26 for polling.

Sabah caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal had made the bold and correct decision to dissolve the Sabah State Assembly to stop “mercenary political frogs” from being bought over to form a new government.  Returning back to the people to allow them to choose which government they want, is the best solution to defeat money politics that engendered the political crisis.
 
Not just Sabahans, but Malaysians are disgusted by the attempt to topple Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s state government by buying over individual Assemblypersons with huge sums of money of up to RM32 million and state cabinet positions. Up to now, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhydin Yassin has not explained why he sent Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and his political secretary to see Sabah Governor Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, requesting that Shafie Apdal be replaced with Musa Aman.

Ever since the Federal Government was toppled following the betrayal of the rakyat’s mandate by some Pakatan Harapan’s wakil rakyat, Malaysians were outraged that the winners of the 2018 general elections were being replaced by the losers. Betrayal after betrayal followed unpunished with Kedah, Perlis, Melaka and Johor changing governments. Only the state governments of Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Sabah remained true to the people’s mandate by refusing to be bought over.

Sabah is the first state that PN failed to engineer a change of government by buying over the mercenary political frogs. This is a good opportunity for the destiny of a state to be decided by people’s power and not money politics.
 
DAP will participate in the coming state general elections as a reliable partner of Warisan and will await recommendations by Sabah DAP as well as views from Shafie Apdal. Let Sabah state general elections be the beginning of a people’s movement to uphold democracy, integrity, economic prosperity, justice and protect the rights of Sabahans.

Lim Guan Eng,
DAP Secretary-General,
Member of Parliament for Bagan.