KOTA KINABALU, Aug 24 — Another Sabah-based party has come out to deny it will support Barisan Nasional in the upcoming state election, calling the coalition “presumptuous” for assuming they would.
A former BN component party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secretary general Datuk Yong Wui Chung refuted reports which quoted BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying they were in talks to form coalition with several local parties.
“Since GE14, we are not affiliated with any other parties or coalitions.”
“Our stand remains the same. LDP will not work with BN or Umno,” he said in a statement here.
He also reminded BN leaders to be cautious with their words and refrain from “their usual behaviour of being presumptuous.”
Yong stressed that LDP has never contacted Ahmad Zahid or any BN leaders with hopes to form a grand coalition of all opposition parties in Sabah, and neither will LDP join the opposition pact.
He said the inaccurate news report has inflicted serious damage to LDP’s reputation and image.
“As a leader, such presumptuous remark is loathsome, more so when it comes from a BN leader. The leader is still living in the old era, thinking that deceiving and manipulating voters is acceptable.
“The people would not be fooled by the selfish ways of BN and other leaders, who use rhetoric to erode the people’s confidence towards LDP,” said Yong.
He also said that LDP was considering taking legal action against the content of the news report.
“These unscrupulous leaders will not succeed in getting their way with slanderous remarks,” he said.
It was reported yesterday that Ahmad Zahid said the BN were in negotiations with Sabah parties like LDP, Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS), STAR, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS).
PCS president Datuk Anifah Aman had earlier distanced himself from the BN, saying that the party intended to form government and contest in as many seats as necessary to do so.
LDP was among the first parties in Sabah to pull out of the BN coalition after its loss in the May 9 polls in 2018 (GE14) and has been an independent opposition party since.
Its president Datuk Chin Su Phin said it had aspirations of returning to the fray in the upcoming state polls on September 26 and will contest some 40 seats.
The polls will also see former chief minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat leading the charge. The 72-year-old Chong was chief minister in 2001 till 2003 under a rotation system.
The party, formerly a Chinese-based party, has recently rebranded and wants to be known as a multiracial party.
