“The basic principle is that Malaya parties contest in Malaya; Sabah parties contest in Sabah. This is the principle of MA63 which the Malaya-based parties now say they will respect. But Malaya-based parties want to contest in Sabah, which would be contrary to their vow of ensuring Sabah’s autonomy under MA63.
“So, if Malaya-based parties want to contest in Sabah, they should authorize their leaders to start discussion with Sabah parties.” he said when asked to comment on Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) acting chief cum Api-Api assemblywoman Christina Liew’s statement that there was room for negotiations to reach the target of a straight fight between BN and the opposition.
Meanwhile, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat) president, Datuk Seri Panglima Lajim Ukin, has urged peninsula-based opposition parties to consider not contesting in Sabah in the 14th General Election (GE14). Lajim said peninsula-based opposition parties should instead work with their local-based counterparts and give the latter their support in the election.
During the SAPP congress in October, Yong had said that peninsula-based opposition parties should recognize that Sabah already has strong local opposition parties, namely, SAPP, Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) under the United Sabah Alliance (USA), Parti Warisan Sabah and now Harapan Rakyat. Yong had said that Malaya-based parties should respect their local opposition counterparts in Sabah and not contest in the State in compliance with MA63.
On another note, Yong said that discussions between USA and Harapan Rakyat was ongoing.
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