They dismissed rumours of friction within the party and insisted they were on good terms with one another.
Speaking to FMT at the party’s Sabah headquarters today, Stephen said people who claimed there was infighting within Sabah DAP were only trying to create a split in the party.
“We are on the same page and we discuss everything together,” he said.
Stephen, the Sandakan MP, said things calmed down between the two camps after the party’s Kepayan assemblyman Edwin Bosi left DAP in August last year.
Stephen was elected chairman of Sabah DAP at its convention in November 2015, defeating Jimmy who was the incumbent.
Jimmy rebuked Stephen for breaking their “Shanghai handshake”, an agreement between the two men that Stephen would not contest the Sabah DAP chairmanship to avoid rocking the boat.
Jimmy and his supporters, Bosi and Sri Tanjong assemblyman Chan Foong Hin, all failed to be elected to the 15 committee positions from a field of 21 contestants.
However, Stephen offered them the olive branch by co-opting the trio into the state committee, which Jimmy, Bosi and Chan accepted a month later.
Jimmy was elected as the Sabah DAP adviser while Bosi was appointed the head of the Sabah DAP Orang Asal consultative committee while Chan led the election preparation and voters’ registration committee.
Bosi was later appointed deputy chairman and Chan as secretary after a number of senior party leaders defected to other parties.
However, Bosi was given the impression he would not be nominated to defend his seat in the next election, and he continued his dispute with Stephen.
The Kepayan assemblyman was finally suspended for three months for making negative statements to the media, and he resigned to join Parti Anak Negeri (PAN).
Jimmy, the MP for Kota Kinabalu, matched Stephen’s efforts to mend fences by laughing off the rumours of a split as the work of “busy-bodies”.
“DAP is the most united party in Sabah. Jimmy Wong is a different man now. I have done a lot to build the party here, so why should I burn down the house?” he said.
He said what happened in the past was difficult but agreed with Stephen that everything settled down after Bosi left the party.
“I don’t blame Bosi. He has his own way of doing things. We are still friends although he has moved on to another party. His party has the same objective with DAP so we can still work together,” he said.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/12/16/three-losing-candidates-return-to-dap-sabah-line-up/
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/12/21/rebellion-brewing-in-dap-sabah-under-new-leadership/