KOTA KINABALU: Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon has appealed to his predecessor Datuk Jimmy Wong to come back to the party after quitting following last weekend's state party poll.

       "I am saddened by our previous state chairman Wong's resignation as a member of the party. I wish to call upon Wong to retract his resignation and come back to the party," he said in a statement here on Wednesday (Nov 24).

       Wong quit the party after the Sabah DAP elections, which saw three lawmakers, including popular grassroots worker Kapayan assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang, ousted from the state committee.

       "It's a healthy process to allow members to decide the direction of the party. It is necessary for the leadership to respect the wishes of the party members," Poon said.

       He said that Wong, a former Kota Kinabalu MP and Sri Tanjung assemblyman, had contributed much to Sabah DAP over the years before retiring from active politics last year.

       Poon added that when he was made acting Sabah DAP chairman in 2019, the first thing he did was to appoint Wong as advisor.

       Wong voiced his dissatisfaction with the state party elections where two native leaders, Jannie and former senator Adrian Lasimbang, as well as Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin (who was Sabah DAP secretary) and Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong were ousted.