80 join SAPP with new hope

KOTA KINABALU - More than 80 people from Kampung Sembulan Lama joined Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and pledged their support for the party's struggle.

The leader of the group, Marali Isnain, did not hide his disappointment towards the Barisan Nasional (BN) government and the elected representatives of N.17 Tanjung Aru and P.173 Putatan for their failure to look after the welfare of the people in the area.



Marali said he had lost hope in BN and Umno for they had not bothered to ask about their livelihood and the problems they faced.They expressed disappointment with the people's representative for not helping the poor and needy to obtain welfare assistance as some of them are elderlies and widows.

"We hardly get to see them for they rarely visit us. But after today's event maybe they will come to this poor village and all I have to say is that it is too late and we don't believe in promises which have been broken many times over in the past.

"We won't be taken for granted again and again," said Marali.

SAPP secretary-general Datuk Richard Yong We Kong told the crowd that the party is concerned about the situation in Sabah and that of this village.

Yong said, "despite Sabah being known to be rich in resources, we have lots of people stricken by poverty and unable to make ends meet.

"On the other hand, we hear the government making announcements about multi-million ringgit projects and there are billions of ringgit worth of foreign investment, which is hard to believe.

"I can see your worries, your anxiety and how the people in this village and in other village in Tanjung Aru area and even in the whole of Sabah about the future, their lands, their dwellings and the future of their children.

"SAPP's Land Reform Policy and Economic Plan for Sabah has the welfare of the Sabah people at heart and a SAPP government will strive to make Sabah better for all," said Yong.

Datuk Hj Mohd Noor Mansoor who spoke at the gathering, stressed that SAPP is a local party for all races.

He admitted that the worsening situation in Sabah has encouraged him to go around the state to be with the people.

Mohd Noor also urged the people to trust and to have belief in SAPP which represents the various races in Sabah.