KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman has urged the opposition parties, especially Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), to accept their defeat in the recent Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election gracefully.
“The opposition parties should accept defeat gracefully. After all, the general election is going to be held anytime,” he told reporters when met at the MIC Deepavali open house at the multipurpose hall of the State Sports Complex in Likas yesterday.
Musa, who is also Sabah Barisan Nasional and Umno chief, was asked to comment on SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee’s statement on Saturday that the party was weighing the option of filing an election petition.
Yong was reported as saying that SAPP had not decided whether to file a petition over the Batu Sapi by-election.
“We have not reached the stage where we have to make a decision. We have a few weeks to decide. After all, it has only been two days after the by-election,” he said.
Yong also said SAPP would have to wait and see what Pakatan Rakyat candidate Hj Ansari Abdullah of Parti Keadilan Rakyat was going to do.
“If Ansari files an election petition, we can provide all the evidence. We have lots of evidence. They are still coming in, in bits and pieces,” he said.
Yong was referring to his claim of gross impropriety, including “money politics”, committed by Barisan National (BN) during the campaigning and even after the campaign period had ended.
Meanwhile, in conjunction with the Deepavali celebration, Musa said we celebrate the various festivities together and this reflects very strongly of the 1Malaysia concept.
He said that despite originating from different cultural and religious backgrounds, the people profoundly respected each other’s culture and religion, resulting in continuous peace and harmony in the country.