The SAPP Saga: I won't leave party, says Raymond Tan - NST

By : Jaswinder Kaur

KOTA KINABALU: The deputy president of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah, said yesterday he would remain with the party even if it was expelled from Barisan Nasional for its decision to go ahead with the motion of no confidence against the prime minister.

His voice cracking with emotion, Tan, who was against the proposed motion, appealed to prime minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to not take action against the party.

He remained firm on his statement that the decision made at Friday's SAPP supreme council meeting to endorse the motion of no confidence was not unanimous.

Tan also criticised the Anti-Corruption Agency for stating that it would investigate SAPP president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee following testimony in a court case that he took profits from the sale of shares belonging to a state-owned company while serving as Sabah chief minister.

Tan, who defended his party and Yong at a 15-minute press conference at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport before leaving for his hometown in Sandakan, said he would remain loyal to SAPP which he joined 14 years ago.

Tan said, although he and Yong might have different views, this was not the time to be away from the party.

[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Frontpage/2274160/Article/index_html]