Table ‘Democracy Act’ now, urges Jeffrey

Luke Rintod of FMT

KOTA KINABALU: United Borneo Front (UBF) leader Jeffrey Kitingan said Opposition MPs should table the proposed Democracy Restoration Act (DRA) in Parliament now rather than wait until after the 13th general election.

“The Pakatan Rakyat Convention in Penang several weeks ago agreed to introduce the DRA after the general election but UBF feels it should be introduced now in Parliament.

“It will be interesting to see if MPs from Sabah and Sarawak will support it as this Act will recognise Sabah and Sarawak’s special rights,” he said at a press conference to announce the dissolution of Sabah PKR’s KDM Task Force yesterday.

Pakatan Rakyat said it would to introduce the DRA in Parliament after the general election, believing it would get more seats and it would be easier to pass the legislation.

Jeffrey, however, argued that it should be done now so that the people can see who are for and against it, especially those MPs from Sabah and Sarawak who are highlighting what is lacking in the two states, but are wary of exacting change.

Jeffrey also argued that he sees no contradiction in his stand to quit PKR but still work with the party.

“There is no contradiction because while we in Sabah and Sarawak now realise that we cannot rely on Peninsular-based parties to fight for Sabah and Sarawak rights, we can still cooperate with others who are willing to work with us. So no contradiction here,” he said.

He said even the ruling Barisan Nasional is welcome to adopt UBF’s Borneo Agenda.

“We encourage BN and Pakatan to adopt our Borneo Agenda, in fact UBF supports any political party that put our demands in its election manifesto for fulfillment if they form the government,” he said.

Jeffrey also disclosed that while the old political model thrived on deception and ignorance, his UBF, a civil rights movement, would work based on inception and knowledge.

“We will tell the people what they don’t know… we are not keeping the truth from them,” he said.