PN offers new hope, opportunities for Sabah: Jeffrey
Published on: Saturday, March 07, 2020
By: Larry Ralon
File photo from Bernama.
Kota Kinabalu: Star Sabah President Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (pic) said he decided to support new Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition because they present new hope and opportunity for Sabah and Sarawak to get back what both rightfully deserve under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).He said the decision he made jointly with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leaders was to end the prolonged debate over the MA63 rights which remain unresolved until now.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said critics have been saying that he leapt here and there but they can say what they like as he didn’t leap but helped to end the crisis by forming the new Federal government.
“If I supported Tun (Dr Mahathir), I will be going in a circle, because who is responsible for the crisis we have in Sabah? All this while our MA63 rights were not entertained since the Umno-BN era which then was under whose leadership?” he asked.
“So I don’t want to go back to that, I want to find a new opportunity with the new leadership. That is why I chose Muhyiddin,” he told more than 500 party leaders and members at Star Sabah headquarters in Sokid Villa, Friday.
Dr Jeffrey, who is also Keningau MP, said when the decision on who should be Prime Minister was left in the hands of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, all the Prime Minister candidates had less than 100 votes.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Tun received 64 votes, while Anwar (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) got 92, while the rest wanted parliament to be dissolved but also did not have a majority. So the crisis prolonged because no one had majority support…a lot of campaigning between the political parties.
“Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) held a meeting where Muhyiddin (Bersatu President) was named as a Prime Minister candidate against Anwar. But the following morning, suddenly Tun became a Prime Minister candidate for the other side. So there was situation where Tun was fighting his own men for the post.
ADVERTISEMENT
“That time, a lot of phone calls from here and there, I was invited to here and there. I was also called by Tun saying he wanted to negotiate.
“I went to see him as a (matter of) respect and told him I support Muhyiddin because I was told that Bersatu had a meeting and it was agreed by Tun for Muhyiddin to be the candidate. Tun told me pergilah kalau boleh dapat majority (just go, if can get a majority). He didn’t talk much but just shook his head.
“So the next morning, I arranged to go to the Palace because Muhyiddin already got the majority. I support Muhyiddin because we want to resolve the government and the Prime Ministership post issues.
“In my mind, if I chose Anwar and Mahathir, the crisis will continue, it will be going in a circle. So rather than support either, better to support the third choice which has no crisis, no issues. But I didn’t decide on my own because I am always with GPS. To me, where Sarawak sits is also where Sabah should sit because our interests are Borneo interests,” he said.
He said when Muhyiddin had the majority to become the new Prime Minister and formed Perikatan Nasional, “from opposition we get to sit in government at Federal-level.”
Dr Jeffrey said the new leaders in PN are unlike those of the previous era, as the leaders in Umno now are listening more to leaders in Sabah and Sarawak.
“And thanks to the Kimanis parliamentary by-election, where we collaborated with leaders from BN, Umno even stated publicly that it will implement MA63 100 per cent. I will hold them to that promise. Even if I am in the Cabinet, so they implement what had been promised in MA63,” he said.
He noted Umno Sec-Gen Tan Sri Annuar Musa in his blog stated that “we will lay off Sabah and Sarawak, and give them autonomi, because in Sarawak there is GPS and in Sabah, there is GBS (Gabungan Bersatu Sabah)”.
“These are new views and attitude of the new leadership. Because of all that we had voiced out, we now have new leaders at the Federal-level with a new mindset and attitude, not like the previous Umno and BN leadership.
“I also heard present leaders of Umno and PAS saying it is unfair for Sabah to receive only 5 per cent oil royalty while the rest goes to Kuala Lumpur. So hopefully they will be fairer from the previous government, so we can serve our people better and they can enjoy more fruits of development,” he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
.jpg)
.jpg)
