KOTA KINABALU, Sept 3 — Former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat today announced his return to active politics just days before the state goes into full election mode.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) honorary lifetime president, who was Sabah chief minister from 2001 to 2003, said he hoped to provide voters with a local party with a clean slate as an alternative to the recent mass crossovers of 13 state lawmakers.
In a press conference here, Chong denounced the recent party-hopping antics in the state and said Sabahans have every right to be angry with “disgraceful party hoppers” and “political frogs”.
“There will be no political frogs if there is no political party to accept them.
“It is these ‘frog collectors’ that gave a bad name to Sabah. Sabahans must condemn these politicians who had unashamedly embraced and accepted them into their political parties,” he said.
Chong confirmed the LDP intends to run in more than 40 state seats, but stopped short of disclosing which seat he plans to contest.
He said LDP will announced its candidates before nomination day, which falls on September 12.
He said LDP had been relegated to being a Chinese-based party under the Barisan Nasional (BN) power sharing concept for 31 years, but added that it has since undergone a change and expanded its base to include Muslims and non-Muslim Bumiputera members for a multicultural appeal.
Chong said LDP is aspiring to form the next state government.
The crux of his administration would be to rid Sabah of its perennial illegal immigrant issues which he described as out of hand since the start of the Warisan administration under the leadership of Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
“Today we see the increasing presence of illegal immigrants everywhere in the state. They are getting braver and more blatant under the Warisan government. When I was chief minister, I sent back hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and I demolished over 10,000 illegal squatters. I did this all with good relations with the federal government and with help from Malaysia police, armed forces and other authorities based in Sabah.
“I have no doubt that the same support will be given to an LDP state government,” Chong said.
He added that a state government that was in good terms with the federal government was another priority for him.
“We will never take sides but respect and cooperate and engage with any federal government led by whoever so long as he is appointed by His Majesty. Any acrimony will only bring Sabah back to the Parti Bersatu era of the ‘80s, where Sabah was fighting with the federal government,” he said.
He also promised to be more frugal with the state finances, first by abolishing the state Education, Health and Public Well-being Ministry and the Law and Native Affairs Ministries which he said duplicates several federal ministries.
“We will also never have a chief minister and the finance ministry be the same person. This is not a family affair. They will be of a different race. Why not?” he said.
Chong said that he would also terminate mega projects like the controversial Kaiduan or Papar dam.
“Our politicians are obsessed with projects. We won’t waste time and bluff that we have billions in our treasury. We don’t. We will instead address issues like non-revenue water and fix those problems. With whatever money we have, we will address horrendous flooding in Penampang and Petagas. We don’t need billions for this. Just a few hundred million,” he said.
In announcing his manifesto, Chong also promises to revive Sabah “to its glorious past” as a world-class tourism destination which attract high end tourists via full-service airlines.
He also wanted to make Sabah a regional education hub and upgrade Sabah’s railway into the west coast.
“Above all, we want to maintain Sabah as harmonious, respectful and tolerant of all religious practices without political or bureaucratic hindrances
“Under an LDP state government, there shall be no more political exploitations when giving out educational and religious grants. All such grants from the state government are the entitlements of all educational and religious institutions and must be delivered as a matter of course and not for political mileage,” he said.
Chong was chief minister from 2001 to 2003 under a rotation system which allows the Chinese, Muslim Bumiputera and non-Muslim Bumiputera leaders to rule the state.
He later resigned as deputy chief minister in 2007 after a fallout with the chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman over the construction of a Mazu statue in his hometown of Kudat.
He retired and remained on a low profile although staying close to LDP affairs since then.
