(Ipoh, 5th) DAP Secretary-General Loke Siew Fook pointed out that the consensus already reached between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) is to respect the principle of the “incumbent seat.” Therefore, in the upcoming Sabah election, the candidates from both sides will not overlap.
He made this statement while attending the 23rd Annual Representative Conference of the Perak DAP on Sunday (October 5th) in Ipoh.
He said that regardless of which side won a seat in the previous election, the allied party must respect it. This is to avoid overlapping candidacies and head-to-head contests in the upcoming state election.
He believes that similarly, BN should adhere to this principle by respecting the seats won by PH, in order to ensure negotiations and cooperation between both parties proceed smoothly and steadily.
"At the Sabah level, we believe this principle also needs to be implemented. I am confident that as long as both parties abide by this principle in negotiations and cooperation, the partnership between PH and BN can be further strengthened and continue for the long term."
As for the issue of “defections” that occurred in the previous Sabah state election, he stated that the DAP constitution already has clear clauses to address this situation.
"There are relevant provisions in our party constitution—if a party member betrays the party and defects to another party after being elected under our party's name, we can declare that they have lost their party membership."
He also stressed that if defectors are subject to the Anti-Party Hopping Act, whether at the state or parliamentary level, they will lose their seats.
"When they lose their party membership and are no longer a member, as long as the relevant state or parliament has implemented the Anti-Party Hopping Act, they will automatically lose their seat, and a by-election must be held."
He added that Sabah has also already implemented the relevant legislation, so they are not worried and are very confident in the new generation of Sabah leaders.
He made this statement while attending the 23rd Annual Representative Conference of the Perak DAP on Sunday (October 5th) in Ipoh.
He said that regardless of which side won a seat in the previous election, the allied party must respect it. This is to avoid overlapping candidacies and head-to-head contests in the upcoming state election.
He believes that similarly, BN should adhere to this principle by respecting the seats won by PH, in order to ensure negotiations and cooperation between both parties proceed smoothly and steadily.
"At the Sabah level, we believe this principle also needs to be implemented. I am confident that as long as both parties abide by this principle in negotiations and cooperation, the partnership between PH and BN can be further strengthened and continue for the long term."
As for the issue of “defections” that occurred in the previous Sabah state election, he stated that the DAP constitution already has clear clauses to address this situation.
"There are relevant provisions in our party constitution—if a party member betrays the party and defects to another party after being elected under our party's name, we can declare that they have lost their party membership."
He also stressed that if defectors are subject to the Anti-Party Hopping Act, whether at the state or parliamentary level, they will lose their seats.
"When they lose their party membership and are no longer a member, as long as the relevant state or parliament has implemented the Anti-Party Hopping Act, they will automatically lose their seat, and a by-election must be held."
He added that Sabah has also already implemented the relevant legislation, so they are not worried and are very confident in the new generation of Sabah leaders.