Mositun’s criticisms are actually compliments on Jeffrey

By Daniel John Jambun

Believe it or not, there are times in your political life when you think you are criticizing someone but in reality you are actually complimenting him or her. This is what Datuk Johnny Mositun had done when he criticized Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan a few days ago. He said that Dr. Jeffrey “is deliberately playing on the people’s sensitivities and parochial sentiments.”

By saying these, Mositun actually admit that Dr. Jeffrey is a doing the right things in politics – appealing to the sentiments and sensitivities of the people. What are the people’s sentiments and sensitivities? Well, for Mositun’s information, these are just a few of them: (1) The people want their leaders to defend their rights, (2) The want what were promised to Sabah in 1963, (3) They want the power to decide on their own fate without having to be subjected to the wills and fancies of the leaders from Malaya, (4) They want their leaders to be courageous, speaking and demanding for them, and not be subservient to a Malayan party like Umno, (5) They want their leaders to have guts and not cowards and pak turuts, traitors, and stooges just for the sake of their salaries, allowances, perks and kickbacks.

These are the people’s sentiments now. And Dr. Jeffrey is not playing on them – he is raising them to the forefront of political issues because he knows this is what the people want and this is what they feel for very deeply. He empathizes with the people and the people are happy because someone is fighting for them. And about parochial sentiments (or sentimen kenegerian) – what is so bad about this? This is the most powerful issue that is making the people stand up and shout, “Ini kalilah!” The 7-Point Borneo Agenda, Sabah for Sabahans, 1Borneo, the Borneo Alliance, the United Borneo Front, Tea Parties, the Semporna Declaration, RCI, NCR – these are all the issues and terminologies which are now waking up the people with a new spirit. They now realize that PBS is not doing what they should be doing, but keep attacking the leaders who are trying to achieve what they want in their hearts, for their children and grandchildren. What happened to the spirit of 1985? It died in PBS and is now coming out alive and kicking in STAR!

Mositun also said that Dr. Jeffrey “takes an issue and turns it into an academic exercise because he knows such things have public appeal, just to keep himself in the limelight.” Well, hooray, Dr. J! I mean how many leaders can actually turn issues into academic exercises and yet people understand it so very, very clearly. This is not just because of Dr. J’s skill in elaborating things but because what he is saying has long been in the heart of the people for many, many years. All he is doing is say it in a very brave way, and they naturally respond with excitement. In fact he is not even leading the people; he is following the people, by echoing their desires and frustrations! And what he is doing is exactly the same things a lot of great leaders in history had done. When London was attack by German’s blitzkrieg, Winston Churchill went on radio and said, “we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!” The whole of England woke up to a new fighting spirit. When Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech in Washington D.C. he was also “playing to the people’s sentiments and sensitivities for public appeal” and so was the case when JFK made the historic speech during the Cuban missile crisis.

My question is: Does PBS still know the meaning of struggle for the people anymore? What PBS is doing now is to please its Malayan political bosses, not pleasing the rakyat. Don’t you people have any conscience? What is Tan Sri Pairin going to say to the people during the PBS anniversary celebration on March 5? Mositun said Pairin will address several thousand party leaders and delegates and talk on details of the party achievements and direction, but what is PBS real direction? To help Umno to continue its colonialistic rule over Sabah? To empower PERKASA to repress the non-muslim and christian. I am sure Pairin will go to endless lengths on why PBS will continue to be loyal to BN and saying the people still need development, development, development, but it will all be lame, and defeatist because he will only be bowing to Umno. Is he going to say again that we don’t need the opposition in Sabah? What he needs to do is to listen to the people, and do what they expect from a Huguan Siou.

On the part of Dr. J, he is not trying to be smart or to be clever. He just wants to tell the truth, to speak for the people. If he is only playing up nonsense issues, the people would tell him off. But that is not happening. People are happy and excited, and coming to the STAR gathering by the thousands! If Dr. J is talking nonsense does Mositun think they wouldn’t know? Is Mositun saying the people are really stupid because if someone tell them lies and nonsense they would still believe and follow like they are zombies?

My friend, the people are no longer stupid. They know what they want, they know what they have lost, they know their future is dead under the present system. They know it is time for change and they see this chance in STAR.