Sabah DAP chairman Stephen Wong said the party had chosen its Keningau division chief, Peter Saili, to be its candidate there in the 14th general election.
Jeffrey reacted to the announcement by questioning DAP’s motive in targeting the seat instead of one held by BN.
He said the move would split opposition votes and help Barisan Nasional.
The announcement was made yesterday during the launch of DAP’s “gravity water” project at Kampung Pangas Ulu in Bingkor, Keningau.
Wong said DAP’s national leadership had given its blessing for the move.
Asked whether this meant that Pakatan Harapan would not work with opposition parties that are not part of the coalition, Wong said negotiations on a possible alliance were ongoing.
“However, there are certain seats that are non-negotiable and Bingkor is one of them,” he added.
He said DAP had been working hard in Bingkor for the past five years and he was confident that voters there would support it.
He claimed that the party had informed Jeffrey of the plan and said “Jeffrey is okay” with it.
However, Jeffrey told FMT he was informed of the decision only after it was announced, which he said was “unfair”.
He said he found it puzzling that DAP and Pakatan, after accusing some opposition parties of being BN friendly, had now chosen to contest for opposition-held seats instead of going after those held by BN.
DAP should have instead decided to run in Liawan, currently held by BN, he added.
In the last election, Jeffrey won the Bingkor seat by garnering 5,350 votes against BN’s 4,894 and PKR’s 2,368.
Out of the eight state seats that DAP contested for in the last election, it won four. Of the four it lost, one was a rural seat, Melalap, which was won by BN candidate Radin Malleh of PBS.
Since then, Sabah DAP has recruited more native personalities, including indigenous rights activist Jannie Lasimbang, who now leads its women’s wing.
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