Yong told not to use past issues as ‘bait’ for votes

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PENAMPANG: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee, as a former chief minister, has been urged to exercise care when making public statements in order to get the people’s support for the party in the next election.

Yong has also been advised not to use past issues in Kampung Maang here as “bait” when fishing for votes, said its village development and security committee chairman, Charles Jimis said.

Charles said this in response to Yong’s statement that if SAPP was given the mandate to form the government in the next election, one of the things it would do is to ensure that administration of Kampung Maang be returned to Penampang District Council.

Yong also assured the villagers there that SAPP will not allow the squatters from Sri Tanjung to be relocated to Kampung Maang.

According to Charles, Kampung Maang has never been under the administration of the Putatan sub-district council.

The village has always been under the administration of the Penampang District Council.

“So I believe that SAPP President Datuk Yong Teck Lee was given the wrong information on the matter,” he said.

Yong, who made the promise when officiating at SAPP Pogunon and Kimoligan branches here last Sunday, claimed that Kampung Maang is now being administered by Putatan Sub-district Council and the villagers’ protest to the Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) government about the change in administration area had fallen on deaf ears.

According to Charles, Yong also should not have raised up the issue of squatters from Sri Tanjung being relocated to Kampung Maang as it was settled about two years ago.

“The State Government had two years ago, agreed not to go ahead with the proposal to relocate the Sri Tanjung squatters to Kampung Maang, so it is wrong for Datuk Yong to bring up that issue again,” he said, adding that the BN government had been very proactive in resolving the problems of the people in Kampung Maang.

Charles pointed out that the Sabah BN government led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and the BN leaders in Penampang, including Member of Parliament Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Moyog assemblyman Donald Datuk Peter Mojuntin and former assemblyman Datuk Philip Lasimbang had assured that Kampung Maang and its land reserves were protected.

“I would like to invite Datuk Yong to come to Kampung Maang and see for himself that there is no squatter resettlement here as the land reserve is specifically for landless villagers in the district,” he said.