Gerakan wants action on Ghapur

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said it wants action taken on Kalabakan Member of Parliament Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh for alleging in Parliament that the party paid money to get people to attend the opening of its branch in Tawau last week.

Koh, who is also a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said the allegation was an insult to those who attended the event.

"It's not proper to raise this in the Dewan during the budget debate. Party issues should not be brought into the debate; our representatives have demanded that he be taken action," he said.


Koh noted that several Sabah Umno leaders, including Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Tun Said, had issued statements saying it was Abdul Ghapur's personal statement and neither representing the views of Sabah Umno or the state Barisan Nasional. Ghapur had urged the Prime Minister not to field Gerakan candidates to contest in Sabah in the 13th General Election, claiming that "the voters in Sabah, especially the Chinese, despise the party and do not welcome it in the State".

"Gerakan is not a winnable political party at all. It is a liability to BN as a whole. All the YBs from Sabah now in Gerakan are 'frogs' who are there so that they can keep their Cabinet positions," he had said.

He also alleged that Bumiputera supporters from Kalabakan were paid RM300 to attend the opening of the party's Tawau office.

Meanwhile, Sabah Barisan Nasional would seek clarification from the Gerakan leadership on allegations of encroachment by Sabah Gerakan into other BN compenent parties domains in the State.

Its Secretary, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, said he would be meeting with Koh to get his feedback.
Concurring with Musa that Ghapur's remarks were his personal view, he said: "I am sure the public is fully aware that the three assemblymen who joined Gerakan made their decisions under very unique and extraordinary circumstances.

Two of them joined Gerakan because their previous party had pulled out from BN while the third joined Gerakan when his party had publicly declared non-cooperation with the Chief Minister," he said. Most important, he said, was that the three assemblymen were staunch BN supporters.

Minister of Youth and Sports cum KaramuntingAssemblyman, Detuk Peter Pang En Yin quit the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after his former party stated it is unable to work and cooperate with Musa.

Minister of Industrial Development cum Tanjong Papat Assemblyman Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah and Elopura Assemblyman, Au Kam Wah left Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) after the party quit the Barisan Nasional.