“Stop Fooling Sabahans - STAR”

By Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan
“Politicians and political parties from Peninsula should learn to respect the people of Sabah if they are sincere in helping them and the State instead of referring to them merely as political “fixed deposit” and as voters that can help them retain or conquer Putrajaya” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, the STAR Sabah Chief.

He said “Sabahans are now more politically matured”.

“They now realise that they have been fooled and cheated for the last 48 years resulting in Sabah being the poorest State in Malaysia and being completely powerless politically”.

UMNO/BN is naturally happy to be in complete control of Sabah. But do you think that Sabahans are happy?

Do you think that we are happy being the poorest State, knowing that we have abundant natural resources and 95% of our oil resources are taken from us unfairly?

Do you think that we are happly being swamped by illegal immigrants who are being given Mykads and allowed to vote and soon will takeover our rights?

Do you think we are happy that we are only receiving 5% of our oil resources?

Do you think that we are happy that RM35 billion of our revenues go to Kuala Lumpur annually while the State collect a meagre RM3.6 billion in revenue!

Do you think that we are happy being ruled and colonised by UMNO?

Now we also have Pakatan Rakyat asking for our votes and asking Sabahans to ignore smaller parties and directly helping in their hidden agenda against Sabahans.

Do you think Sabahans are fools to want one colonial master to be replaced by another?

Sabahans need no reminder to be fooled a second time that only Peninsular parties can best represent Sabah and protect Sabahans.

Sabahans and Sarawakians need to keep their Parliamentary seats. If not, not only will the Borneo States lose their voice, they will lose their bargaining power to protect the State rights.

From the 2008 election results, it is important to realize that Sabah and Sarawak could be the kingmaker. If the Sabah and Sarawak local parties had switched their allegiance, there would have been a change in the Federal Government.

Contrary to opinions from some local leaders of Peninsular opposition parties and Peninsular opposition leaders, a kingmaker need not be a big party nor be based in Peninsular.

A glaring example is the role of the Liberal Democrats in the 2010 UK elections where it won just 57 seats in the 650-seat British Parliament and played the role of kingmaker in a coalition government. The Liberal Democrats leader even got to be appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Peninsular parties need Sabah’s seats and the support of Sabahans. The support must be at our terms and conditions and not theirs and not based on their agenda.

The Peninsular parties can promise us anything but at the end of the day, it will depend on the strength of the local parties to defend our State rights.

Look at the local BN components who are mere followers and are forced to remain deaf, dumb and mute to the rights of Sabah and Sabahans. They should look to and emulate the bargaining prowess of the Liberal Democrats in UK.

It is time for Sabahans to be stand united and to realize that we must take responsibility for ourselves.

We can no longer rely on outsiders to lead us as they have their own agenda. Their agenda and priorities are not the same as ours.

They are only interested in using us, Sabahans, for their Semenanjung political battle.

Let us decide our own fate. Do not let others decide for us.

If not us, Who else? If not now, When?

INI KALI LAH! Do not underestimate local parties.