LDP fires salvo at ‘hypocritical’ Gerakan

The peninsular-based party is told to first look at themselves in the mirror before accusing others of clamouring for positions in the government.

KOTA KINABALU: After weeks of accusations and counter accusations between the oldest state BN coalition party, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and its BN partners, Sabah Gerakan leaders stand accused of being hypocritical for demanding a standard they have failed to live up to.
“Gerakan should first look at themselves in the mirror, before accusing others of clamouring for positions in the government,” LDP publicity chief Albert Kok said yesterday.

He slammed the recent statement by Sabah Gerakan leader cum Elopura assemblyman Au Kam Wah mocking LDP leaders for clamouring for positions in the government.

“This couldn’t be more true about himself and the party he just joined,” said Kok.

“It is widely known that he together with Raymond Tan abandoned SAPP so that they could both keep their positions in the government. Au Kam Wah should therefore look at himself in the mirror and his own ‘new party’ before he talks about others,” the LDP man said in a bitter rebuttal.

Kok pointed out that Gerakan leaders in Sabah should not be so bold as to start accusing others of low standards when their own chief, Koh Tsu Koon had eagerly accepted his appointment as a Senator in order to became a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, despite losing his seat in last election which saw the party almost wiped out.

“Even his predecessor, Dr Lim Keng Yaik reportedly advised him against accepting (the appointments) but Koh couldn’t care less and accepted the position with open arms,” Kok said.

Greedy Koh
Kok also pointed out how Gerakan had eagerly wooed former LDP leader Peter Pang as another glaring example of Gerakan demanding for positions in the government.

He said that since Gerakan did not contest in Sabah in the last general election, the party should have been gracious enough not to accept more seats in the state cabinet as there was already another newly joined Gerakan member, namely Raymond Tan, in the state cabinet.

“Is this not reflection of their own greed for government positions?” he asked, while querying Au’s principles as well as his failure to advise his party chief that it was against BN policy to recruit a member from another BN party.

“Au kept quiet and gladly welcomed Peter Pang, unashamedly, because by doing so he knew Gerakan had got another cabinet position,” he said.

Kok also urged Au to tell Koh to take responsibility for the losses suffered by Gerakan in the last election in the same way former MCA chief Ong Ka Ting took responsibility for the losses it suffered in the 2008 general election, although he won his parliamentary seat.

“Ong resigned as MCA president then. It shows that at least Ong Ka Ting has principles and does not clamour for government positions unlike some,” he said.

By Queville To