Pakatan still in unity talks with SAPP

Pakatan Rakyat is still negotiating with the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) to fight the Barisan Nasional (BN) on a “one-to-one” basis in the coming 13th general election, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said.

He said this at a news conference after meeting with PKR Sabah leaders at a leading resort hotel here, before returning to Kuala Lumpur, today.

He was referring to his previous statement that both Pakatan and SAPP should sit down and talk on how best to cooperate with each other to prevent a split in the opposition vote in the coming general election.

“SAPP of course has its strength here. There have been discussions and we are continuing our talks with them, although we are also guided by the spirit of Pakatan and we have to report to PKR, PAS and DAP.

“We hope we can have an amicable resolution to this,” said Anwar.

He disclosed that PKR’s deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali had a discussion with SAPP president Yong Teck Lee, during the former’s visit to Sabah about a week ago.

Asked if there is a deadline for an agreement on a one-on-one fight against the BN, Anwar said that he agreed that all have to be fully geared up for the general election and that all negotiations must be fast-tracked both in terms of seat allocations for Pakatan, as well as negotiations with SAPP.

“Both Azmin and Yong Teck Lee (SAPP president) who are involved in negotiations, are quite conversant with that (matter),” he said, adding that “we need to be humble enough to acknowledge the fact that we need to discuss and negotiate with people who have the same ideas and aspirations for the people of Sabah, based on these core principles”.

Anwar also said that there cannot be any compromise on good governance, the fight against corruption and the commitment to champion the causes of the people, particularly the poor and underprivileged.

He also said that it is imporant that all worked together. “We have to work together; we have worked in Selangor and Penang… the important principle is it (a government) must be transparent, accountable, and clean,” he said.

Also present were the various Sabah PKR leaders, including its liaison chief Ahmad Thamrin Jaini, deputy chief Jonathan Yassin, secretary Dr Roland Chia, and Ansari Abdullah, its Tuaran division chief.