KOTA KINABALU: Former assemblyman Datuk Nahalan Damsal said he had joined Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) because he believed in its cause.
He said SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee and the party’s struggles for Sabahans were what made him decide to join the party.
The former Umno and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) member told reporters that initially his intention was to assist Yong in the latter’s campaign in the Batu Sapi by-election.
“But when he (Yong) lost, I felt very disappointed so I decided to join SAPP,” he said, adding that Yong was a leader who fought for the working class rather than giving priority to the elite group.
“It is good for Sabahans to have a leader who is fighting for the working class,” he said when met at the SAPP 5th congress here on Saturday.
Asked if he had submitted his resignation letter to PKR, Nahalan said it was not his style to do so.
“My resignation is effective automatically, even when I left Umno to join PKR, I never submitted my resignation. For me it is automatic when I leave the party,” he said.
“That is my style in politics, I never quit the party through official letter… no way. That is not my style,” he said.
When asked to comment on the radio broadcast on the eve of the by-election claiming that he had rejoined Barisan Nasional (BN), Nahalan stressed that he was not surprised because such incident had happened before.