Tham said planning political comeback

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KOTA KINABALU: Former deputy chief minister Datuk Tham Nyip Shin is said to be seriously considering making a political comeback, and even be a candidate in the forthcoming general election.

Tham, who has had an eight-year political hiatus after he was not picked to defend his Elopura state seat, is said to have been wooed by parties on both sides of the political divide.

Met at a private dinner function here on Friday, Tham did not deny when asked about talk that he would be a candidate in the next election.

“In politics, anything is possible,” said Tham. “I am weighing my options for now and perhaps in a few weeks time if you ask me the same question, I may have a more definite answer.”

He did admit that he had met with representatives from both Barisan Nasional and the opposition in Kota Kinabalu as well as in Kuala Lumpur, when he was there on a business trip recently.

“I was approached. I told them I would consider their invite but made no promises. After eight years in the political wilderness, there are many things to consider first before I make a decision to come back or stay away from politics for good.

“But don’t ask me where I am going to stand or on which party ticket,” he added. “It could very well be in a seat which is away from my traditional stronghold in Sandakan and the party I join could catch you all by surprise.

“So let’s just wait for the time being. Let me consider the matter seriously and in due course I will give you all my decision.”

A businessman with extensive local and regional businesses, Tham made his political debut in 1985 as a Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) candidate at the age of 26, staving off a challenge from his more senior Berjaya opponent Datuk Yap Pak Leong by 171 votes.

Together with former Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee, he helped form Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) in 1994 and retained the Elopura seat by beating a PBS candidate. In 1996 he was appointed deputy chief minister, a position he held for seven years.

After his retirement from active politics in 2004, Tham was appointed as the Science advisor for the State Government of Sabah.

In 2006, he co-founded Fox Gloves Solution Sdn Bhd which is now known as Ecoglove Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd and ventures into the first automatic glove reprocessing technology in the world.

“It has always been my intention to serve the people through the government,” remains a significant remark made by Tham when he left SAPP in 2008. SAPP had then withdrawn from the BN.

“I made the same decision in 1994, leaving Parti Bersatu Sabah and formed a party (SAPP) to join Barisan Nasional because at that material time, BN still ran the federal government. Today, I hold the same principle,” he told reporters then.

Tham is known to be close to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman and was credited with pulling together Chinese support that gave Linda Tsen of PBS victory in the 2010 Batu Sapi by-election.

He is also a close friend of former Gerakan president Tun Lim Chong Eu, Tun Lim Keng Yiek and current president Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon and is said to be in regular contact with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

But Tham is not a member of any political parties now.