Yong-Musa debate turns into SAPP ceramah

By Clara Chooi

October 31, 2010

BATU SAPI, Oct 31 — Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee’s scheduled debate with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman was transformed into a fiery ceramah attended by over a thousand people when the latter failed to show up.

The event took a heated turn when PKR candidate Ansari Abdullah made an unexpected appearance at the Hakka Association Hall, shortly after 1pm.

The lawyer however quietly took a seat at the back of the hall, declaring that he had not come to join the debate but merely to observe.

“But if they want me to join, I will go. They just did not issue me an invitation,” he told reporters who crowded around him when he arrived with several campaign assistants.

He added that he too hoped for Musa’s arrival, insisting that he wanted to hear the debate, which was to discuss Sabah’s autonomy and Yong’s (picture) endorsement of the ‘Sabah-for-Sabahan’ concept.

Yong had issued the challenge to Musa last week, after the latter claimed that both slogans were “outdated”.

Yong, who himself is a former chief minister, also turned down a challenge for a debate issued to him and Barisan Nasional’s candidate for Batu Sapi, Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin, by Ansari.

Ansari’s debate was scheduled for 2pm at the Sanbay Hotel here.

Earlier, Yong took his seat onstage at about 12pm along with three others on his team, including SAPP deputy president Datuk Eric Majimbun, a Sabah PKR leader Datuk Nahalan Damsal and former state finance minister Datuk Mohd Nor Mansoor.

The group waited for over half an hour for Musa to turn up but when he failed to do so, Yong took to the stage and delivered a fiery speech.