Chong: "Tan, stop insulting the people"

KOTA KINABALU, November 26, 2008: Datuk Raymond Tan should stop insulting the intelligence of Sabah people and, to better focus on the various issues that are still plaguing the state and its people instead, especially the Sandakan folks, said Chong Pit Fah, Information Chief of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP). “Do a favour for the people of Sandakan by making full use of your last days in the Cabinet to call off the proposed coal power plant, instead of for personal motives,” said Chong.

Chong urged this today, in response to Tan’s remarks on Monday that he might abandon the formation of his new political party, citing that his main task now is to win back the people’s support for Barisan Nasional (BN) following the pulling out of SAPP from the ruling coalition on September 17. Tan also reckoned that SAPP’s pull out from BN has had an impact on BN.

Tan who is the deputy Chief Minister cum Infrastructure Development Minister said this when approached by reporters at the “Energy Efficiency Convention and the Electricity Supply Application Handbook” (ESAH) at a hotel here, for comment on the latest development in his plan to form a new political party, which he announced soon after SAPP pulled out from BN.

He urged Tan to be more conscientious when supporting the controversial coal-fired power plant project for Sandakan, which will be sited at the Seguntur Bay. “Can he (Tan) guarantee that the project will not cause any grave impact to the environment as well as those living in the surrounding areas?

The fact that the State Government had rejected the plant in Lahad Datu in April this year on environmental grounds effectively means that it should be scrapped in total. If it’s not safe for Lahad Datu, how can it be safe for Sandakan?” he questioned.