KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah President Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili described the current scenario in Sabah as a “political disturbance by some power hungry politicians”.
“To me, it was not a political crisis as described by some. What we had in Sabah was a political disturbance by power hungry “political bandits”, or pundits, from UMNO, Warisan and PKDM (Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat).
“Fortunately, the fire was quickly put off to restore solidarity and unity following a headcount by the full support of assemblymen during the state assembly sitting on Jan 10 this year.
“A formal voting in the House was not even necessary. Count of signed statutory declarations (SDs) was sufficient,” said Ongkili.
He stressed that this declaration of political support for the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor put to rest any attempt by the three groups of political bandits, whose original and ultimate aim was to replace the state’s premier leader and dislodge the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government.
Reorganisation has since taken place, including replacement of unfaithful political leaders who were part of the original GRS administration, as well as appointments from other political parties which have declared support for a Sabah Unity Government, namely Pakatan Harapan and DAP, and some faithful and principled Umno leaders who pledged the commitment to the leadership of the GRS-led government.
“Subsequent to the reorganisation and restoration of solidarity, political peace and stable administration, the effort by the three groups of ‘political bandits’ to sing a song supporting the principle of unity government espoused by the Prime Minister and as commanded by the Agong, sounded ridiculous. It is rather a shame for these politicians to sing a different tune so that they would be included into the newly formed administration after their previous attempt to dislodge the Chief Minister failed.
“Isn’t it a shameful political ploy that after failing to dislodge the Chief Minister and his government, you suddenly want to be invited to be part of the government.
“The people of Sabah are mature enough to understand this situation, which clearly reflects the practice and operation of these political parties’ and their questionable leadership standards,” said Ongkili.
He further added that the call for a cooling off period for UMNO Sabah, as proposed by its President and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is to be welcomed because any effort by groups to strengthen Sabah political unity and solidarity is good for the people of Sabah.
“As one of the GRS leaders, it is my hope that the call truly comes from the heart and intended to strengthen the GRS and unity Sabah government.
“PBS also calls for renewed commitment for solidarity and unity among GRS partners. In politics, the principle of give and take, especially for the sake of the rakyat is always premium, even if such decisions go against our emotions and inner beings.
“We, in GRS, have always been moderate and reasonable, and it is not easy to simply accept new friends, or difficult old friends, what more those who were once our strong political enemies in the past, such as the DAP and even PH, particularly for us in Sabah.
“So, for us among the political partners in GRS, we had to swallow our pride and forgive and try to forget the past for the sake of Sabahans unity, what more when such a call for unity and solidarity was commanded by the Agong.
“We must enhance all the new initiatives of solidarity exemplified by the CM of Sabah, and stop the nonsense of political disturbance caused by power hungry leaders as shown by Umno in the past.
“In the last two years, there were hardly any complaints from Umno pertaining to the running of the state administration, but suddenly they wanted to dislodge the CM with the help from opposition parties.”
Ongkili noted that Hajiji could have chosen a respectable path if he was unable to keep the majority in the state assembly, which was to go back to the people at the grassroots and call for a premature state election.
“But he did not want Sabahans to go through another round of election. Enough is enough.
“So I call on my colleagues in GRS to continue strengthening our state government so that we can speed up the Sabah Maju Jaya goals for the good of Sabah and Sabahans, in line with our GRS slogan: Sabah First!” -pr/BNN
