Sabah DAP duo ready to accept party’s guidance over titles

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah DAP’s Datuk Chan Foong Hin and Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe are ready to accept their party’s guidance and advice following their decision to accept the Datuk title recently.

In a joint statement, they acknowledged that they breached the party’s policy when they accepted the Datuk title on Oct 7, in conjunction with the Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin’s birthday celebration.

“We would like to extend our sincere apologies to the leadership and members of the party,” their statement read.

“Although we had previously explained the complexity of the situation, stressing our obligation to respect the goodwill from the Governor of Sabah and the state government, we understand that this should not be an excuse to undermine the party’s principle and policy,” it stated.

The statement further stated that as Sabahans, both Chan and Phoong deeply valued the state governor’s recognition of DAP’s dedicated service to the people and the community.

“Our unwavering dedication to serving the people and our beloved nation as elected representatives remains resolute,” they said in assuring the people that their commitment to uphold the party’s principles was unwavering.

“We have taken to heart the strong reprimand from the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) and are ready to accept the party’s guidance and advice with humility and an open mind,” they said.

On Oct 26, it was reported that DAP has reprimanded two of its Sabah leaders – Chan Foong Hin and Phoong Jin Zhe – for accepting the state’s Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK) awards, which carries the title Datuk.

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said this was decided following a meeting of DAP”s central executive committee (CEC) which convened on Wednesday (Oct 25) to discuss, among others, the issue.

On Oct 8, Loke said Chan and Phoong had violated the party’s policy by accepting the awards, noting that the matter would be deliberated upon at the next CEC meeting.

Chan had told reporters at the time that he accepted the award as a mark of respect and honour from the state governor.