He said the MoU was necessary in order to eliminate party hopping and restore stability amid the pandemic when people were suffering.
“Most importantly, it was an opportunity for the opposition bloc to pressure the federal government to table institutional reforms, including the tabling of the anti-hopping law.
“But Wong is the one who is trying to mislead the people by painting a negative image over the MoU,” he said, in a statement here today.
Poon was referring to Wong’s heated response to comments by new DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook on Wednesday that ties were tense between the two parties because some Warisan leaders took a “confrontational approach” against them.
Wong had said the tense ties only started after DAP’s “betrayal” when PH agreed to the MoU with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government.
Wong, who was previously with DAP, also denied there was any “confrontational approach” on the part of some Warisan leaders.
Poon said it was public knowledge that Sabah has always fallen victim to the culture of party hopping, hence, Wong’s and his party’s continued attacks on DAP were unwarranted.
“Shouldn’t he and Warisan support the MoU for institutional reforms like the anti-hopping law after Warisan was also the victim of defections?” he asked, referring to the fall of the Warisan-PH state government in August 2020 due to defections.
“They’ve also been accepting ‘political frogs’ (party hoppers) nationwide, from Selangor to Tawau,” he said, referring to Warisan accepting former DAP assemblymen into their party.
“Is this why they are against the MoU, because they don’t think the culture is one of the worst and most corrupt practices in Malaysia?”.
Poon also questioned a statement by Warisan president Shafie Apdal on his party being open to working with any party or coalition which secures the most majority after the next general election (GE15).
“Does that mean Warisan will join the Barisan Nasional government if it wins GE15?” he asked.
He said that while DAP had clearly stated its doors are always open for them to cooperate but Wong’s actions seem to indicate Warisan was not interested.
“Is Warisan now officially calling for ties to be cut with the opposition? Shafie and Warisan must consider their move wisely.
“Do we want another divided opposition that would help Umno to return like what happened in the Johor and Melaka state elections? Think and act for the people of Sabah.
“That’s why we call on Warisan to stay calm and be practical, get back to the round table for negotiations,” Poon said.