Opposition ‘spoilers’ giving Sabah BN quiet wins

By Luke Rintod of FMT
STAR and SAPP have reminded Sabah DAP and Sabahans that
voting for Pakatan would be a case of jumping from the
frying pan into fire situation.
KOTA KINABALU : Opposition parties DAP, SAPP and STAR have a common enemy in Barisan Nasional. Yet they seem unable to hold it together, constantly kniving each other instead of plotting against their enemy.
This in itself is intriguing and is telling of Sabah’s layered opposition politics which runs deep on distrust.
Yesterday, DAP’s sole parliamentarian Hiew King Chew, accused both State Reform Party (STAR) and Sabah Progressive Peoples Party (SAPP) of being “useless” parties that cannot do anything.
“It is a waste to vote STAR or SAPP,” he had said in statement that lumped the two parties as “spoilers” in the 13th general election.
Hiew’s statement was featured prominently in Sabah local dailies, spiking the heat in what will be an all-time ‘do or die’ elections for some groups.
SAPP information chief, Chong Pit Fah however shot Hiew’s view as “arrogant” and merely promoting Pakatan Rakyat to replace BN, at the expense of Sabahans’ real aspiration to restore glory to state autonomy.
“Let me remind Hiew that it is his boss Lim Kit Siang who admitted that DAP cannot win Sabah.
“So if (Pakatan) cannot win Sabah, why must contest here and become a spoiler?” Chong retorted.
Chong was referring to Lim’s recent interview with Sin Chew Daily in which he had said that Pakatan was set to recapture Perak, retain Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and Selangor and take over only Perlis and Negeri Sembilan.
“It is also strange that Hiew is always complaining about SAPP flags being flown everywhere including near his office, when he never complained about Umno or BN flags,” said Chong, who accused Hiew of feeling threatened by surging support for local parties like SAPP.
Who’s greedy?
Chong also said that Hiew’s argument that should SAPP form a state government it would run into trouble just like previous Parti Bersatu Sabah’s state government was “lame and outdated”.
“PBS time was different as Umno was very strong then under Dr Mahathir Mohamad, but now the landscape has changed with both BN and PR equally strong or weak, in need of continuous support from Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
He also called on Hiew to reflect on Lim and Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim’s persistent statements that the country is going bankrupt.
He said it was Malaya that was going bankrupt and because of their greed, it was bankrupting the whole nation.
“Bankrupting Malaysia is not the doing of Sabah and Sarawak. In fact Sabah and Sarawak are cushioning the economic impacts of Malaya’s border-less greed and unrepentant plundering the country,” he said.
Chong, who is poised to stand as SAPP candidate for Kepayan state seat near here, argued that Hiew has no right to accuse state parties of greed.
“Unlike DAP, SAPP has always been here for the single reason that it fights for Sabah and Sabahans, and of course we are looking at seats within Sabah of which there are only 25 parliamentary seats and 60 state seats
“There are more than 400 state seats in Peninsular and 165 parliamentary seats over there that the DAP and Pakatan can lay their hands on, so why is still the greed to grab the few seats in Sabah too?
“Seriously now, who is greedy?” asked Chong.
Saving Sabah
Meanwhile, Chong’s counterpart from STAR, Edward Linggu, in a separate statement, said Hiew, who is Kota Kinabalu MP, has chosen to forget that Sabah has special rights, privileges and autonomy and these were the conditions on which the state agreed to forming Malaysia in 1963.
Linggu questioned the patriotism of Hiew as he refused to fight for Sabah’s rights but instead help surrender Sabah to yet another group from across the South China Sea.
“STAR sees Sabah as its home to assert the peoples’ right to do away with dictation by outsider party. But sadly, our efforts are being hampered by other Malaya-based parties like DAP which is out to split votes here,” Linggu argued.
Linggu said Hiew needs to wake up to the reality that the people of Sabah had awakened from their slumber and wanted to assert their rights to the RM42 billion collected annually by Kuala Lumpur from the state.
“Let me tell Hiew, nobody will help Sabahans except ourselves.
“STAR is fighting for something BN Sabah parties don’t dare to do, that is to take back our rights which were promised to us in the Malaysia Agreement, the IGC Report, the 20 Points and the Oath Stone.
“These rights have been eroded and will be completely wiped out if yet another Malayan parties continue to rule over us because they have no understanding of the genuine desires Sabahans,” Linggu said.
He said voting for Pakatan is like jumping from the BN frying pan into the Pakatan fire.

82 comments:

  1. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    DAP Sabah hari ini menerima tamparan apabila Naib Pengerusinya, Edward Ewol Mujie bertindak keluar parti dan menyertai parti Pertubuhan Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Bersatu (UPKO).

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  2. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Edward yang menyerahkan sendiri borang keahliannya kepada Presiden UPKO, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok dalam satu majlis di Kampung Putatan di sini, merupakan individu berpengaruh DAP Sabah yang kedua dalam masa seminggu bertindak meninggalkan parti itu. Minggu lalu, Ketua DAP Kepayan di sini, Stephne Jimbangan bertindak demikian bersama 128 penyokongnya dan menyertai UPKO.

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  3. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Edward berkata, antara penyebab utama tindakan nekadnya itu adalah kerana tertarik dengan usaha gigih tiga parti utama komponen Barisan Nasional (BN) di Sabah, iaitu UPKO, Parti Bersatu Sabah dan Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah untuk menyatukan etnik Kadazandusun Murut melalui program 'Gelombang Tataba' (Perpaduan). - UTUSAN ONLINE

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  4. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Bukan sahaja memberikan tamparan kepada DAP atau Pakatan Rakyat, malah juga kepada parti pembangkang tempatan Sabah seperti STAR dan SAPP. Keputusan yang dibuat oleh orang kuat DAP Sabah ini membuktikan bahawa Barisan Nasional diyakini mampu membela nasib rakyat Sabah terutamanya bagi etnik KDM. Malah keputusan Edward juga secara tidak langsung membuatkan laungan "Sabah for Sabahan" oleh SAPP dan STAR akhirnya kekal sebagai laungan kosong yang bersifat populis dan hanya bertujuan untuk menarik sokongan rakyat.

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  5. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Jika kedua-dua parti pembangkang tempatan ini (STAR dan SAPP) bersungguh-sungguh memperjuangkan nasib rakyat Sabah, sudah tentu Edward memilih mana-mana dua parti tersebut. Namun, memandangkan kedua-dua parti ini hanya lantang dari segi laungan, tetapi tidak dari segi tindakan, maka keputusan Edward untuk menyertai UPKO adalah tepat selepas komponen BN Sabah ini memperlihatkan kesungguhan mereka dalam memperjuangan nasib rakyat Sabah dalam beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini.

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  6. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Sikap tamak pembangkang Sabah terutamanya dari aspek pembahagian kerusi mungkin juga boleh menjadi punca kepada keretakan pembangkang Sabah, dan situasi seperti ini bakal membawa kepada kejatuhan pembangkang pada PRU13 nanti. Jesteru, kepada semua ahli-ahli pembangkang, ambillah tindakan awal sebelum nasib anda KARAM bersama-sama dengan parti yang lebih menonjol sikap tamaknya berbanding dengan agenda memperjuangkan nasib rakyat, negeri dan negara ini.

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  7. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Syabas kepada Edward dan beberapa ahli DAP lain yang telah membuat keputusan bijak dengan meninggalkan parti boneka Anwar Ibrahim. Semoga lebih ramai ahli-ahli pembangkang yang akan menyertai Barisan Nasional selepas ini...

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  8. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    A confident Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, hailed for the state's sound financial management and state Barisan Nasional (BN) supremacy in the 2008 general election, is once again expected to spearhead the coalition in the coming polls against a disunited opposition in the state.

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  9. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Firing the first salvo after the dissolution of the Dewan Rakyat and the Sabah Legislative Assembly, Musa, who is also the state BN chairman, called on the people of Sabah not to gamble away their future by experimenting with an opposition government. "Think wisely before making a decision, and don't gamble away the future of our children and the country," Musa was quoted as saying.

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  10. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    The charismatic Musa led the state BN to a thumping victory in the last general election, capturing 24 of the 25 parliamentary seats and 59 of the 60 state seats, leaving the DAP with the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary and Sri Tanjung (Tawau) state seats.

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  11. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    With negotiations for a possible one-to-one contest or showdown between the BN and a united opposition front in Sabah making no headway, the BN is now in a better position to deliver another double political knockout to its opponents in both the parliamentary and state elections.

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  12. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    The seeds of disunity began to appear within the opposition when Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced here recently that Pakatan Rakyat would face the BN on its own without the support of the state-based parties in the coming general election in Sabah.

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  13. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    This did not go down well with the leaders of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), a local party that left the BN on Sept 17, 2008, which had been hoping for a strategic alliance to face the mighty BN election machinery. In what is seen as a blow for the opposition, SAPP secretary-general Datuk Richard Yong had subsequently described Anwar's announcement as implying that "PR is over-confident".

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  14. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    “They hold themselves so high that there is no need for cooperation from Sabah parties to campaign against the Barisan Nasional. They have ignored the people’s aspiration for the opposition to go one-to-one against the BN in the coming election,” Yong was quoted as saying.

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  15. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Adding salt to the wound, State Reform Party (Star) Sabah Chapter chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan confirmed joining the fray, and expects his party to be involved in contests of three-corner or more in most of the parliamentary and state seats. Short of saying that it might further split the opposition votes and give the advantage to the ruling party, Jeffrey said "every political party is free to field a candidate in elections as it is in line with the principle of democracy as practised in Malaysia".

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  16. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Based on the prevailing political scenario in the state, with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years. with the SAPP and the STAR joining the fray with special focus on the issue of the Borneo Autonomous agenda, this would surely be a boost for the BN to repeat its feat of the 12th general election.

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  17. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Advantage is definitely on the BN side because, in the political arena, whenever there is a split or disunity among the opposition, the ruling party will always get the benefit. For example, the results of the 2008 general election for the state seats of Likas, Kepayan and Inanam in Sabah, the split opposition votes gave victory to the BN.

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  18. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    I believe things like this will happen again in the coming general election, either Pakatan Rakyat or SAPP or even STAR candidates would turn out to be the spoiler for the opposition votes one way or another.

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  19. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    Another factor that gives the advantage to the ruling party is the BN government's seriousness in handling the security issue, particularly the terrorist intrusion in Lahad Datu. I feel it is a 'blessing in disguise' from the security point of view which was previously taken for granted.

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  20. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    With the government's decision to increase the security personnel to guard the sovereignty of the state, particularly in the east coast as well as the implementation of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM), it brings out the confidence of the people, especially voters, in the government. They feel safe as security is under control and are convinced of the government's concerted efforts to avoid similar incidents in the future.

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  21. with the split and disunity among the opposition parties, the BN seemed to have the upper hand to rule the state for another five years

    the feel good factor towards the good administration of the Sabah government under Musa, especially in bringing about development in all aspects for the people and the acceptance of the new transformation policy implemented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the brainchild of the 1Malaysia concept, would also contribute to the BN's victory in the polls.

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  22. DAP, SAPP dan Star masih lagi tidak sefahaman dan bertelagah

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  23. Despite the political mayhem in Sabah, it is possible that Barisan Nasional (BN) will again win big in the state in the coming general election.

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  24. In fact, BN could win all 25 parliamentary seats and all the 60 state assembly seats as well as the sole MP seat in Labuan.

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  25. Mind you, in the last general election in 2008, Sabah BN lost only two seats – the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat and the state seat in Sri Tanjung .

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  26. Both seats went to DAP. This time though, it is possible that DAP will lose both seats to BN. But DAP will disagree with me. It will insist that it can retain Kota Kinabalu and Sri Tanjung.

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  27. Its leaders will also tell you that they will win the Sandakan parliamentary seat and in a few other state constituencies where there are Chinese majorities. This should add up to about eight constituencies.

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  28. And that means state-based opposition Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), which is staking claims to these Chinese seats too, will be left empty-handed. These are the possibilities in Sabah.

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  29. And what about the Sabah chapter of the State Reform Party (STAR) that boasts 160,000 members?

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  30. Political pundits here are claiming that STAR has a good chance of winning a few Kadazandusun seats. They are saying that it could be four MP seats and eight state seats. But if you ask the STAR leaders, they’ll tell you that winning a simple majority of 31 (out of 60) and up to 10 MP seats is possible.

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  31. The opposition in Sabah appears even more split now than in the last election. At least in 2008, there was no STAR as Jeffrey was still in PKR then.

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  32. That is why I said BN could win big again in Sabah. Those hoping for change are pragmatic about the possibilities.

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  33. There is also a possibility that one or two of opposition parties in Sabah could be working hand-in-hand with the establishment to ensure that the Umno-led BN rules for another five years.

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  34. Peluang ini akan memberi kejayaan besar kepada BN sekali lagi.

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  35. Generally, the people see Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to hold nationwide protests just like those being held at Kelana Jaya indoor stadium based on his allegation that the 13th General election is fraud more as self-serving rather than anything else due to his failure to become the Prime Minister.

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    1. It was the view of the Police that the rally at Kelana Jaya was illegal as it did not follow the procedure to hold peaceful rally in a controlled area.

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    2. For example, the Police only knew about it few hours before the rally though it is mandated that the period should be 10 days before the actual event.

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    3. Understandably, Anwar finds it difficult to accept the defeat with honor as he had been telling the foreign media, prior to the election, that he would be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia.

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    4. Interviewed by BBC after casting his votes at Pematang Pauh, he again claimed that he would be given the mandate to form the next government. Obviously, he had to look for excuses for his presumptuous and false prediction.

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    5. But with due respect to him, he was not the only one. Lim Kit Siang, DAP’s supremo boasted, after visiting Kuching, Sibu and Miri in Sarawak and Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan in Sabah, where he received very good reception, that Pakatan would form the next government after the 13th General Election.

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    6. Of course, he did not realise or he could be ignorant of the fact that Kuching, Sibu and Miri alone could not be Sarawak, nor could Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan alone be Sabah.

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    7. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to hold nationwide protest looks more awkward as Lim Guan Eng (DAP) was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Pulau Pinang and Datuk Ahmad Yakob (PAS) was sworn in as Menteri Besar Kelantan. Their appointments actually validated the election results.

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    8. Generally, the people concur with the Prime Minister, Dato Seri Mohd. Najib, who considers that it is weird for Anwar to have accepted the election results at the state level but questions them at the Federal level.

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    9. It is a fallacy to claims the electoral fraud based on the popular votes. It may be true that Pakatan has won more than 50% of the popular votes against Barisan Nasional, 46.8%. But our system is based on constituencies.

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  36. It is only right that if they cannot accept some results, they should not accept them all. The question is why accept the results at state level and question those at the Federal level; Anwar is making selective acceptance of election results.

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    1. It is like in America where the results are not based on the popular votes, it is based on the Electoral College.

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    2. People can still remember that President George Bush was elected for his first term in his office based on the majority of the electoral colleges and not popular votes.

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    3. His rival then Vice President Al Gore got more than 1 million popular votes than him but less electoral colleges. If Anwar wants popular votes then he should go for a presidential system. Ours is not a presidential system, it is based on the parliamentary constituencies.

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    4. Apparently, urban voters had been desperate to be in Putrajaya that they were blinded to what the Barisan Nasional led government had done for them over the years.

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    5. Their obsession to be in control Malaysian political landscape had rendered them incapable of saying thank you for things being done for them. The rural folk still maintain this human decency and hence they don’t bite the hands them.

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    6. Chief Minister, Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, in his speech to start work on the bridge at Nanga Dap in Baleh, Ulu Kapit, says the bridge to connect the road from Ulu Tatau to Nanga Merit in a remote and inaccessible area is by itself a very significant project.

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    7. This kind of development may not take place in other countries but it can be carried out in Sarawak as the State government has a long –term plan for any major development project with the objective to move the people forward and improve their standard of living.

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    8. The State government has two reasons to build the road. Firstly, it will make the area more accessible with the development of the hydro dam. The power to be generated by Bakun hydro dam will be insufficient to power the industrial development program.

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    9. Therefore, the State government has to build two more dams, one in Ulu Baram and the other one at Baleh for the purpose.

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    10. Besides, the road, when completed, will be able to push development to more remote areas in the hinterlands in order to transform them from backward areas to become more modern and attractive place with the potential to attract young people with good education, knowledge and skills to stay and work in their own areas.

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    11. The State government, with the support and co-operation of the Federal government has been able to build roads more than 28,000 KMs of R3 and R5 types of roads throughout its nooks and corners since Independence.

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    12. Besides, the state government has also been building access roads to most of the more than 5,000 settlements comprising of longhouses and traditional villages during the same period.

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    13. Pehin Sri Abdul Taib says with a good network of roads, the State has been able to open up more than 1 million hectares of land for oil palm estates in the overall efforts to increase the state’s wealth.

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    14. The Barisan Nasional - led government has the vision in planning for the development in order to prepare the people to adapt to changes that will come out in the process.

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    15. He is happy that Sarawak, whatever the opposition say about it, has been able to accumulate sufficient expertise, knowledge and experience to undertake more sophisticated and challenging development in the transformation from the medium income to high income economy towards the year 2020 and beyond.

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    16. Pehin Sri Abdul Taib says Sarawak decided to join to form the Federation of Malaysia with the knowledge that it could share the bigger economy and it could request the Federal government for support and co-operation to build the economy.

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    17. For this reason, during the last 50 years, Sarawak has been able to push development to remote and isolated areas.

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    18. He believes the Barisan Nasional- led State government, with its track record of service in serving the people, State and country will be able to push further the socio – economic development of Sarawak to more remote and difficult areas in the near future.

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    19. Pehin Sri Abdul Taib says the State government, through the recommendation of the Minister of Land Development, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. James Masing, who is also the State Assemblyman for Baleh, has made a decision to open up Tunoh, which has a sizeable land to be opened up for oil palm estates and develop a new township in order to encourage active business activities in the area.

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    20. Hence, the State government has decided to build the road from Ulu Tatau to Tunoh, with a total length of 70Km, as it is convinced that the development of new township at Tunoh will be able to attract young people with good education and knowledge to work in the area.

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    21. Admittedly, the road is being constructed to an area with very small population though the State government builds this type of road to a place with at least 100,000 people living near the road sides.

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    22. However, this can be justified with the development of hydro dam, which will be able to create more jobs for the local people at Baleh.

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    23. Pehin Sri Abdul Taib, who is also the Chairman of Barisan Nasional Sarawak, says it has been the practice of component parties, since the first generation of leaders, to introduce new candidates in any elections.

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    24. For example, Tan Sri Dr. James Masing, who has very high education, has been elected to represent remote rural areas through a proper program to groom young leaders to take over from old leaders.

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    25. He says in PBB, for example, he is the only first generation of leaders left in the party while Datuk Patinggi Jabu Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, Deputy Chief Minister, who was recruited to join Barisan in 1974, is the only one of the second generation of leaders left behind in the party.

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    26. The Barisan Nasional has the policy to groom people to take over from the older leaders, who should be obliged to support them as their successors and work as a team.

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    27. As Barisan Nasional has been in the government for a long time, it has been able to forge unity and co-operation among party members, civil servants and community leaders in order to become stronger in the efforts of development.

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    28. Pehin Sri Abdul Taib says in April 2011 State elections, PBB introduced 10 new faces to contest and win in the elections.

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    29. As a consequence, all elected leaders in PBB have degree qualifications. All other component parties also want to see new leaders with good academic qualifications and experience as members to continue with development efforts to undertake bigger projects at an accelerated pace in future.

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    30. Undoubtedly, Sarawak has been able to ensure a healthy development of politics among the people, who comprise of diverse ethnic and religious groups.

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    31. For example, a Malay leader does not help the Malay community only or the Iban leader, the Iban community only but we help all communities; so also with Chinese, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu leaders.

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    32. They help all people who are people of Sarawak and citizens of Malaysia. For this reason, we have been able to undertake bigger and more sophisticated development.

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    33. Undoubtedly, Malaysia has successfully transformed the livelihood of the people from urban to rural areas through the continuous struggle from the first generation to the present generation of leaders to develop the state primarily to uplift the living standard of the people.

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    34. Pehin Sri Abdul Taib recalls Sarawak could not spend RM100 million under the First Malaysia Plan. But under the 10MP, State is expected to spend more than RM18 billion for development. Now the per capita income is RM41,000.

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    35. When Sarawak joined Malaysia in 1963, the per capita income was RM680 only. Indisputably, Malaysia has given a lot of benefits to the people as they celebrate its 50th anniversary.

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    36. He believes Sarawak will be able to achieve the income of RM45,000, the international benchmark for a developed nation, by the year 2017.

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    37. In other words, Sarawak will become a developed state three years earlier than the national dateline of 2020. At one time Sarawak was among the three poorest states in the country.

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