PBS MAN CRIES FOUL OVER UMNO DOMINATING POSTS IN DUSUN KAMPUNGS

By Ezra Haganez
KOTA BELUD: A local Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) member from Kampung Pangi in Kelawat near here, Dumit Banati, had questioned the rationale of putting in perpetuity UMNO leaders as Village Headman in a predominantly Dusun kampung with many PBS members.

"Recently, the long-serving Ketua Kampung of Kg Pangi who was an UMNO member was replaced by yet another UMNO member, recommended by UMNO.

"Just where is the so-called power-sharing when only UMNO men could be considered for even ketua kampung post? And worse sometimes even the Pengerusi JKKK of the same kampung is also from UMNO," he told Borneo Herald.


Dumit said he is speaking up because PBS members at the grassroots level are now mumbling and complaining against the condition they have been in for years.

"Kampung Pangi is within Kadamaian constituency which is a PBS stronghold, and it was only PBS, besides UMNO, who always open "markas" in Pangi each time election had been held. And, each time UMNO will get Ketua Kampung and Pengerusi JKKK and PBS get nothing," he claimed.

He said if the political authority do not have the will to appoint qualified PBS men, then at least they should allow the villagers to elect their own ketua rather than letting UMNO men in perpetuity at the expense of the pride of PBS members.