SUPP LDP Solutions Lie With their State Not ROS - Dr. Jeffrey

Kota Kinabalu:    “It is saddening to see the predicament of SUPP and LDP having to resort to bowing to Umno and ROS who seems to be holding them to ransom” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, BHF/UBF Chairman in commenting on the appeal by SUPP President to Umno for help prevent de-registration by the ROS and the court action on the LDP leadership tussle.

The SUPP and LDP solutions lie with the reversion of control of political parties and societies to the Sabah and Sarawak governments and the removal of federal control through the federal Registrar of Societies (ROS) in Putrajaya.

As SUPP has also appealed to their brethren in Sarawak BN, the solution is even simpler.  A tabling of a new Sarawak Societies Enactment at the next Sarawak Assembly sitting will do the trick with a provision for the exclusion of the federal Societies Act.  Passing the Enactment will be a breeze with the Sarawak BN holding a 2/3 majority, controlling 35 of the 71 DUN seats and a simple majority is only needed to pass the new law.

LDP in Sabah may face a more treacherous path since there is Umno in Sabah and they would need to heed the instructions of their political masters in Kuala Lumpur.   But then again, LDP is in the BN and if Sabah BN is with them, passing a Sabah Societies Enactment will only be a formality since they control 48 of the 60 State seats.

The political franchise in Sabah and Sarawak should be determined by their people and the fate of political parties should lie with Sabah and Sarawak not Putrajaya.

Reliance should not be placed on the federal powers and Umno who are using this ROS jurisdiction to determine the politics and the future of Sabahans and Sarawakians.  Umno and the federal government cannot be trusted to be making the right decisions as can be seen in the cases of SUPP and LDP.   Worse still, it appears that SUPP is being forced into a merger with SPDP to avoid de-registration.

“Why is the ROS delaying on the SUPP tussle?  
Is the issue at hand so complex and complicated that ROS must take months and years to come to a decision?” asked Dr. Jeffrey.

“Why is the ROS taking sides on LDP after meeting and advising no meetings be held?”
“Is the purported AGM properly convened and were all entitled delegates given the right to attend given that there were police reports by some delegates on the requisition for a general meeting?” added Dr. Jeffrey.

There can be no reason for the ROS actions other than holding the factions to political ransom and bowing to Umno/federal demands.

If the ROS is genuinely neutral and impartial, why can’t the ROS decide and oversee that a proper general meeting be held and allow all eligible delegates attend and determine the fate of the leadership tussle?

Reverting control to Sabah and Sarawak respectively will only enhance the autonomy and political franchise in the respective States.   It is not asking for additional jurisdiction or special treatment as this control laid with the Sabah and Sarawak governments when Malaysia was formed.

The federal government and ROS needs to be reminded that Malaysia is made up of a federation of equal partners in Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, all independent sovereign nations in their own right.  While Malaya achieved its independence on 31 August 1957, Sarawak gained theirs on 22 July 1963 and Sabah on 31 August 1963.   Malaysia came into being only on 16 September 1963.