Our seats non-negotiable – LDP

SANDAKAN: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will continue to contest in the Sandakan parliamentary seat and the four state constituencies of Karamunting, Merotai and Tanjung Kapor in the coming general election.

“It goes without saying that LDP will continue to contest in the four seats we contested in 2008. These seats are non-negotiable,” its president Datuk Liew Vui Keong declared yesterday.

On the six seats left ‘vacant’ following the pullout of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) from the Barisan Nasional (BN) in September 2008, the Sandakan Member of Parliament said: “We have no doubt LDP is the only local based party eligible to lay claim to these seats.

“However, it is best if we focus on dealing with issues confronting the people first and solve them to the best of our abilities.”

Earlier when speaking at the joint annual general meeting of LDP Tanjang Papat, Elopura, Karamunting, Sg Sibuga, Sekong and Gum-Gum divisions here, Liew saluted LDP members who resisted an attempt by a former leader to get them to leave the party as true heroes and heroines.

The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said he is very proud of them for showing the spirit of LDP.

“Many of you have been with LDP for the last 21 years. Your loyalty to the party has made me very proud and the envy of many others.

“Despite recent attempt by someone, who left the party for his own personal glory… to entice our Sandakan members with promises and financial gains, many of you were not moved by such tactics, he said.

According to Liew, a member even claimed that the person called him on the phone to ask him and a group of them to leave with lots of financial promises but instead the member and many others scolded the person for being a traitor and slammed down the phone.

“This is the spirit of LDP that I together with the entire LDP is very proud of. You are the true heroes and heroines of LDP,” he said.

Liew urged the LDP members to start preparing for the 13th general election, saying that the AGM could be the last one before the election.

With the election looming closer, it is important for them to be ready not only in their preparation but also in dealing with the other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, he said.

“We must first ensure unity within our party and at the same time ensure unity within BN. It is important for us to be united together to fight the Opposition. We all are aware that a win for BN is a win for LDP. We must therefore ensure BN wins.

“It is important for us to produce quality winnable candidates in all the seats we will be contesting in GE-13. I therefore urge those aspirants to continue to show their qualities and abilities to be able to serve the people without fear and favor,” he said.

Liew also stressed on the importance to ensure that the candidate is supported and accepted by all walks of life as there is no point to be popular in party and able to win in party’s election but is not accepted by the people and then get rejected in an election.

“We must not fight yesterday’s war as it is already over. Our battle is tomorrow and to fight it, we must be prepared today. LDP must not linger on in the past. While we can use the past as a guide, we must be prepared today using today’s strategies for tomorrow’s battle. The battlefield has now changed and the mindset of the people is also changing,” he said. August 15, 2011, Monday