How the Press reported it

The front page of The Star, the best selling English newspaper in Malaysia. Despite being linked to MCA, it has a larger readership than New Straits Times.

The front page of today's New Straits Times, owned by a company controlled by UMNO. Notice how they play the issue.

The upper portion of today's Daily Express front page. The full headline should read: SAPP's 'no faith in PM' shocker. Daily Express is owned by the family of the late Tan Sri Yeh Pau Tzu, comrade-in-arm of the late Tun Fuad since the birth of Berjaya.

The lower half of the front page of today's Daily Express. Notice story about SAPP deputy president and Deputy Chief Minister Raymond Tan who was absent yesterday.

The Borneo Post (Sabah edition)'s front page today. There is also a Sarawak edition owned by the same company whose headquarters is in Sarawak, Sabah's neighbour.

The New Sabah Times' front page today. Notice that while other papers use Yong's statement as the headline, this paper uses the Prime Minister's comment.

SAPP president Yong Teck Lee' bombshell yesterday was, as expected, given frontpage headline treatment by all newspapers in Malaysia today. I reproduced here the front pages of today's edition of 3 local (Sabah) and 2 national (Malaysia) newspapers.

There are two reasons why I'm doing this. Firstly, it is for the benefit of non-Malaysians in general and non-Sabahans in particular. I mean, if the bombshell was given front page treatment all over the country, it certainly attract interest or readership.

Secondly, I have learnt a valuable lesson ever since I started going to the archives after I began my blog about a year ago. That lesson is simple - save (in the computer) news reports of interesting and historical events that may turn out useful or sought-after years from now.

Remember the old Sabah newspapers I reproduced about the birth of Berjaya and the Double Six plane crash? The 1975-6 newspapers I found in the archives were no longer in good condition, some pages even half-torn while other pages or an entire edition went missing. Lucky I still managed to photostat the relevant front pages for you so far, but the next time I may not be so lucky.

Yet another reason is so that my blog's visitors can see and judge for themselves how each paper play up (or down) the issue or the kind of treatment each paper gives to the issue. The two national papers (Star and New Straits Times) whose front pages I reproduce here are from the mainstream media of Malaysia while Daily Express, the Borneo Post and New Sabah Times are regional papers based in the east Malaysian state of Sabah. New Straits Times is controlled by UMNO while the Star by MCA. Both UMNO and MCA are component parties of Malaysia's ruling coalition, BN. New Sabah Times is controlled by the family of Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Aman who is also from UMNO. Daily Express and Borneo Post are strictly business concerns, although formerly Daily Express was regarded the unofficial mouthpiece of the now-defunct Berjaya party which ruled Sabah from 1976-1985.

(Please click on the images for a larger view.)

SAPP Not Sacked!

"You too?" The Prime Minister seems to be asking PBS president Joseph Pairin (left) as he arrived at the meeting. In the background is PBRS president Joseph Kurup.

The man who started it all....SAPP president Yong Teck Lee

The Supreme Council meeting of Malaysia's ruling coalition, the National Front or BN at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur which started just before 3pm and chaired by BN chairman and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi or Pak Lah has just ended.

According to The Star, Malaysia's leading tabloid daily, it was decided that any decision on action against SAPP will only be made after getting official explanation on its statement on plan to table no-confidence motion against the PM in Parliament next week.

Quoting BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor, The Star Online added that all (remaining 13) BN component parties have denounced SAPP's statement as "unethical and against spirit of BN."

Tengku Adnan, a former Malaysian Minister, further said that all MPs from BN component parties will be told to attend Parliament sitting throughout the whole period and reject any no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister; suggesting that the BN is not taking SAPP's threat lightly.


Meanwhile, the New Straits Times, another Malaysian tabloid, quoted the Prime Minister himself as saying that no action would be taken against SAPP because the announcement was made by Yong and not the party.

"No action would be taken against the two SAPP MPs either as the statements were made outside Parliament . He added that there was no rush to take action because the party has not done anything wrong yet," the paper quoted Pak Lah has saying.

The Day After (the SAPP Bombshell)

24 hours have passed since SAPP president Yong Teck Lee dropped that bombshell at the press conference held at his party's headquarters at Luyang in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.

As I have said in my earlier postings, not only do Malaysians in general and Sabahans in particular know about it by now, they are talking about it, wondering what would happen next. This is because the stakes are high. What Yong did may change the political landscape of the country in the coming weeks. Either that, or he might fail in what he set out to do, and leave SAPP in the limbo until the next election or, as the de facto Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim insists, until September 16, the date by which he had set for his Pakatan Rakat coalition to take over the Federal Government from BN.

If at 2.00pm yesterday the entire Sabah's attention was focused on the press conference at the SAPP headquarters, today the entire Malaysia's attention is focused on the BN supreme council meeting at the UMNO headquarters building in Kuala Lumpur at 2.30pm; chaired by none other than the PM himself.. SAPP, being one of the 14 component parties of BN, would normally be sending 3 reps to such meetings. But not today, and the reason is obvious. "We are not invited," says SAPP and this was confirmed by BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan.

The agenda on today's meeting? Understood - what to do with SAPP. Will the party be sacked from BN? We will know in about an hour or two's time. But the answer will almost certainly be yes. SAPP's 'enemies' within BN wouldn't want to miss this golden opportunity to get rid of the party from BN for good. It is an open secret that SAPP had been at logger heads with fellow components PBS and LDP over the last few years.

At the first post-mortem meeting of the BN supreme council held after the March 8 election, LDP and PBS pointed a finger at a party from Sabah for back-stabbing them in the election. When asked by reporters in Sabah days later who the guilty party was, LDP president VK Liew shrewdly responded: "I forgot, go and ask (PBS president) Datuk Pairin." It is believed that the party referred to was SAPP. If true, that perhaps helps to explain why the PM was reluctant to appoint Yong a full Federal Minister through the Senatorship as widely speculated.(Yong did not contest any MP seat).

Liew himself and another component party president, Joseph Kurup of PBRS were only made Deputy Ministers after the recent election. This was perhaps another consideration of Pak Lah, plus the fact that the Chinese quota of the Deputy Chief Ministersip in the State Cabinet already went to SAPP through Datuk Raymond Tan who, by the way, was absent at yesterday's press conference. Tan is Yong's No. 2 in the party, being Deputy President.

Yong said at yesterday's conference that the SAPP supreme council will meet tomorrow (Friday) to discuss the party's next move including the possibility of leaving the BN. At the rate things are going, that perhaps would not be necessary. UMNO vice president Mohd Ali Rustam who is currently in USA on official duty said he had written a letter to the party headquarters recommending that the meeting today discuss the sacking of SAPP.

Meanwhile, PBS deputy president Dr Maximus Ongkili who is with Ali in America also deplored SAPP's action, describing it as "untimely" and "unkind". PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan, speaking to reporters before leaving for KL to attend the meeting, also condemed SAPP's action. PBS should know better and would think twice before following SAPP's move.

PBS led by Kadazandusun leader Pairin left BN a few days before polling day in the 1990 Malaysian election to throw their weight behind Gagasan Rakyat led by Semangat 46 president Tengku Razaleigh who is now, ironically, tying to unseat Pak Lah as UMNO president for a second time. But PBS lost the gamble - BN won and Gagasan lost. This turned PBS into the opposition at the federal level although it was the ruling party at the state level. PBS managed to get back into BN in 2002 when Chong Kah Kiat was Sabah Chief Minister and Dr Mahathir the Malaysian Prime Minister. To Kah Kiat and Mahathir, I salute you for this. You have big hearts. Chong and Pairin were colleagues during Berjaya time when Harris Salleh was Chief Minister. Chong was Assistant Minister to Harris while Pairin was a Cabinet Minister until he was forced to resign. Pairin later formed PBS which toppled Berjaya.

But it is not as if Yong would not expect sacking from BN. He said yesterday that SAPP was prepared to face any consequence. From the way he spoke, it seems there is no love lost and that he is going for broke.

"Sacking by BN is exactly what SAPP wants, so Sabahans can't say that they jumped or, more famously in Sabah, had become frogs. We were sacked, we didn't jump," an observer pointed out.

Yong also said yesterday that the next 48 hours (24 left) would be crucial. I can't agree with him more. It is indeed crucial. So far no component party or BN MP has come out in support of SAPP's action, not even the outspoken UMNO MPs Anifah Aman and Ghapur Salleh who both declined a Deputy Ministership offered by the PM. Not even MPs from PBS and UPKO, both of which were speculated by The Sun newspaper a few days go as likely to follow SAPP's move. By now too, it has become clear that the chances of SAPP or any Opposition MP moving a motion of no-confidence against the PM on Monday (or for that matter for the entire duration of the next Parliament sitting) are becoming slimer and slimer. Never mind the sacking from BN. That would be academic and makes no difference to SAPP.

OK folks, time to watch the 5pm RTM 1 TV news and surf the Net for the latest. The BN meeting should be ending any time now. See you tonite for more.

Borneo's SAPP's Plan Hits Early Snag?

Looks like Malaysian Borneo's SAPP's plan to topple Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah) has hit an early snag. By the time June 18 was over half-an-hour ago, none of SAPP's fellow-BN component parties has voiced support for Yong's plan.

In Sarawak, Sabah's neighbour in east Malaysia, all of its BN component parties have instead come out in support of Pak Lah. In fact, they were unanimous in pledging their support, according to the Star's Kuching correspondent, Sharon Ling.

Dr Stephen Rundi, secretary-general of PBB which is the backbone of the Sarawak BN, said the party would continue to stay behind the Prime Minister. PBB is the party of Sarawak Chief Minister, Taib Mahmud who has led the State since 1981.

"During his last visit to Sarawak on June 10, we pledged our full support to him and this is not going to change," he said, adding that the party's MPs would not support a vote of no confidence against Pak Lah.

SUPP president Tan Sri Dr George Chan said this was not an appropriate moment to "play politics" as the country was going through difficult times and needed to stabilise.

"We have to make sure that everyone pulls together in difficult times and it's beter for everyone to work together under the present Prime Minister," he said, adding that SUPP's six MPs were behind Abdullah.

According to PRS president Datuk Dr James Masing, it was unfortunate that SAPP should choose to table a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister at this time.

"This is a time when all component parties must stand firmly behind BN and the leadership of the Prime Minister," he said.

"All six MPs from PRS will stand together behind the Prime Minister," he said.

SPDP deputy president Datuk Peter Nyarok said his party strongly supported Abdullah as BN chairman and Prime Minister of Malaysia.

He said SPDP's four MPs would not support any no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister in Parliament and advised SAPP to think twice about it. History repeating itself?

Meanwhile, over in Peninsular or mainland Malaysia, the Chinese-based MCA and Indian-based MIC which have been UMNO's loyal partners since even before Malaysia was formed have also come out in open support of Pak Lah. MCA is also the largest Chinese party within the coalition formerly known as Alliance while MIC is the largest Indian party. Another Chinese-based party, Gerakan alo deplored SAPP's move.

Back in Sabah, neither PBS nor UPKO which the national tabloid The Sun speculated yesterday that would follow SAPP's move has come out to support it. Both parties are Kadazan-based BN component parties and are led by former Chief Ministers.

Even the opposition DAP (aka the Rocket), which is supposed to welcome SAPP's move with open arms, has questioned its motive instead. DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng was quoted of saying: "The SAPP's move is unusual. The only thing for SAPP to do now is to leave the BN. But why is the party not leaving BN? What is its motive? How is it that the party wants to table such a motion when it is still part of the coalition?," he asked, as if hinting that SAPP may be play-acting or just testing the water.

Asked if DAP would support SAPP's motion, Lim who is Penang chief minister said if the Sabah party wanted DAP's support, then they would have to rationalise their decision.

"After all, the SAPP only has two MPs and they don't really decide on the downfall of the BN government," he said sarcastically.

But those are not the only hitches that SAPP is facing. There is one final hitch - The minister-in-charge of Parliamentary affairs, Nazri Aziz said the planned motion is not going to happen on Monday or any time after that.

"The truth is the motion is not going to see the light of day as daily government business takes precedence in the House. However, whether or not the motion is accepted is dependant on the Speaker," he said, pointing out that up to now, the SAPP has not submitted any motion to the Speaker.

Nazri said two provisions under the Standing Orders, the first 27(1) provided for a motion to be tabled by any member on any specific subject but the member must give a 14-day notice.

"Even if this motion is accepted by the Speaker, it will only be debated when the government's daily business in the House is concluded," he said.

The second provision is 18 (1), when the House debates a motion by any member for an hour if it is specific, of public interest and has to be done immediately as it is deemed urgent.

"The Speaker can either accept or reject it in his office or in the chamber. The House will debate the motion for an hour with both sides getting equal time. There will be no vote," he said.

Unlike 27 (1) where a 14-day noticed is needed, 18 (1) only needs a 48-hour notice or two clear working days, meaning that the SAPP or whoever is planning to table the motion must submit their motion to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker by tomorrow (Thursday).

Meanwhile, Speaker Pandikar Amin said he would have to look at the motion before making a decision. Incidentally, Pandikar is from Sabah but he is aligned to UMNO.


Looks like it is easier said than done.

Reactions to Borneo's SAPP Press Conference

By now the whole country (Malaysia), for that matter the whole of Borneo island, know about what party president Yong Teck Lee and Tawau MP Dr Chua Soon Bui said at the press conference of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) this afternoon. It's no longer news.

The nation's, in particular the state's (Sabah) attention is now focused on the reactions to SAPP's plan and the possible scenario that follows. Would SAPP leave BN after its supreme council meeting on Friday or would it get kicked out even before then? Would SAPP succeed? Would Yong get the support that he is supposed to get from the 82 Opposition MPs plus some other BN MPs especially from Sarawak as planned, after meeting defacto Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim twice? Or would SAPP be played out come next week in Parliament just as PBS was played out in 1990?

Would the two hitherto outspoken UMNO MPs from Sabah, Ghapur Salleh and Anifah Aman, support Yong's move? Ghapur, a State Assemblyman-turned-MP, and Anifah, brother of the Sabah CM, had both turned down the offer of Deputy Ministers in the federal government; fuelling speculation that they would be among the first BN MPs to jump over to the Opposition.

And if the Prime Minister (Pak Lah) survives the vote of no-confidence, what would happen to SAPP especially its 2 MPs and 4 State Assemblymen? Even if SAPP succeed in toppling Pak Lah but if the new Prime Minister is still from UMNO, what good would that do to SAPP especially if the party is already out of BN by then?

On the other hand, if Anwar and Yong succeed, what would be the latter's role in the new Malaysian government? All these and many others are the questions playing in the mind of Malaysians especially Sabahans right now. Only God knows.

A Dayak or Iban-based political party from Sarawak was supposed to have follow the footsteps of PBS who pulled out from BN on the eve of the 1990 nationwide general election but our neighbour chickened out last minute, leaving PBS in the lurch. The Semangat 46-led Gagasan Rakyat of Tengku Razaleigh which PBS joined together with DAP and PAS then failed to topple the UMNO-led BN and this left PBS being in the opposition at the parliamentary level despite being the state government. Will history repeat itself?

Anyway, first thing first, the most important reaction that Malaysians have been waiting for is that of the man himself - the Prime Minister. Pak Lah (pic) did react this evening - albeit a very brief one. He simply said, according to the national news agency Bernama, that Yong's action was due to the fact that "I have not been able to satisfy his personal greed." Abdullah did not elaborate. However, his aides told Bernama that the Prime Minister would elaborate at a later date.

Meanwhile, Sabah Chief Minister and State BN chief Datuk Musa Aman expressed disappointment over SAPP's declaration. "I am not sure what is SAPP's real motive in making such a statement," he said in a statement.

"As a BN component party president, Yong's act was uncalled for and unprecedented in the spirit of camaraderie adopted by BN all this while."

Borneo's SAPP's Bombshell

Tawau Member of Parliament Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui (2nd right) was the star of the press conference today rather than her party boss. She is flanked by SAPP president Yong Teck Lee on her right and party secretary-general Richard Yong on her left.

The press conference was fully-packed with reporters and cameramen not only from the local press based in Kota Kinabalu but also the national press and international news agencies from Kuala Lumpur. "Even the Chief Minister's press conference would not normally attract such a large crowd of newsmen," commented an observer. The unexpected large number of newsmen prompted Yong to order his boys to photostat more copies of the statements. In asking the reporters how many more copies needed, the press-savvy former Chief Minister jokingly remarked: " For the Special Branch one copy enough lah oh..." He was reacting to the presence of police political intelligence officers who had been seen hanging around the SAPP headquarters area since last night. Police intelligence reports are known to go right up to the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the Inspector of Police as well as, of course, the Sabah Police Commissioner.

The man (or rather lady) of the hour....Dr Chua being welcomed by Yong at the start of the press conference. This is a rare moment for Chua, protocol-wise, as normally she would have to wait for her party president to arrive at any function. But today Yong, a former Sabah Chief Minister, had to wait for her! This was because SAPP would be banking on her and fellow-MP Eric Majimbun in Parliament next week when a vote of no confidence is tabled against the Prime Minister. Yong said at the press conference that the duo will vote for the motion.

Yong in a jovial mood while waiting for Dr Chua's arrival. He even asked the reporters: "Are we ready? If we are ready then we'll call our MP, referring to Dr Chua who was waiting next door. The other SAPP MP, Datuk Eric Majimbun, is overseas on official duty. Yong said he has a signed statement from Eric saying that he too will vote for the motion agains the PM.

SAPP's headquarters at Luyang, Kota Kinabalu. Pix taken 2 hours before press conference.

A billboard near SAPP's headquarters....Party's action today is preparing Sabahans for the future?

Yong's statement with his initials underneath. The surname of the Tawau MP was wrongly typed. It should be Dr Chua and not Chu.

Dr Chua's statement with her signature underneath.

(For larger views of the images, click on them.)

More write-up later. Taking a break. Sorry for the delay of this one as I promised it would come within a few minutes of my News Flash earlier. I over-estimated the efficiency of the free public wireless Internet or Wifi service at Coffee Beans at Damai. It was slightly better than the one at KFC at nearby Bornion Center though, which was hopeless. I had hoped to blog from there both before and after the press conference as it is nearer to the SAPP headquarters.