Dr Jeffrey has joined Sarawak party, Star

By Ezra Haganez

KOTA KINABALU: It is official ! Maverick Dr Jeffrey Kitingan who had been partyless since he left Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) one year ago has now joined a Sarawak reactivated party, Sarawak Reform Party, or in short Star.

Star president, Dr Dripin Sakoi, presented Kitingan a membership card and document empowering him to lead a Sabah chapter of the party. Four other pioneers, all Kitingan's men, of the party in Sabah who received their membership cards today (Dec 16) were Guandi Kohoi, Rubin Guribah, Jeffrey Telado and James Aik.

Dr Dripin, who took over presidency from Dr Patau Rubis in March, who is now permanent chairman, surprised everyone in the packed hall of a restaurant in Penampang when he invited the five to come forward and received their Star cards while he was giving a short speech after Kitingan finished his.

"We in Star fully subscribed and support the Borneo Agenda of UBF (United Borneo Front) and it is time now for us to unite...I am calling upon Dr Jeffrey to come forward and received his membership. He is now to lead the Sabah chapter," Dripin said amidst thunderous applause from the some 300 supporters of UBF and guests.

Among the guests who witnessed the event were SAPP advisor, Mohd Noor Mansor, SAPP deputy president, Amdi Sidek, Simon Sipaun, Patrick Sindu and Kalakau Untol. The event was to celebrate the first anniversary of UBF, exactly the same date at the same venue it was launched a year ago to coincide with the date of the famous Boston Tea Party in America long time ago.

Earlier in his press conference, Kitingan didn't mention joining any party. Neither did he say anything about it his hour-long speech. Most of the press had already left when Dr Dripin made the dramatic announcement and gave away Star membership cards to him and the others.

It is learn't that Kitingan tonight is having a meeting with his people to set up an organising committee for the launching of Star Sabah, now tentatively fixed on another Friday, January 6, 2012. A veteran officer of Kitingan, is understood to have booked the 4,000 capacity hall at the nearby Hongkod Koisaan, which headquarters the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA).

In his speech, Kitingan has repeated the same points he had been telling audiences in as many as hundreds of Borneo tea parties UBF held throughout the state the last 12 months. It was about the false hope and broken dreams of gaining independence through an equal-partnership with Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak in 1963.

"We have been duped because we were too young to comprehend then. They exploited us until we become just one of the 13 states in the Federation, until we have become the poorest in this country. We must put a stop to this and the only way is to unite once again to fight for our independence, and our rights," Kitingan said among others.

Datu Badaruddin, a son of the late Datu Mustapha Harun, the only other speaker at the event, took the opportunity to call home all the three major communities in Sabah - Muslim natives, non-muslim natives and the Chinese to unite and vote UMNO and Barisan Nasional out of Sabah at the coming general election.

"I have this message to the Prime Minister (Najib Razak) "kalau anak jantan, kasih daftar parti Usno sekarang..." Datu Badaruddin said met with thunderous applause from the floor. He is a protem president of Usno Baru for quite some time.