CM plays key role for Sabah RCI – Pairin

PENAMPANG: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan touched on 20 issues in his policy speech at the party’s annual delegates congress here yesterday.
The Deputy Chief Minister spoke at length about the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah, its responsibilities, the panel appointed and the Terms of Reference (ToR) that had been agreed on.
According to him, the opposition had accused PBS of keeping mum about the illegal immigrant issue in Sabah but they did so because they had forgotten that the setting up of the Commission was through the hard work and determination of PBS in addressing the matter.
“There is also no denying the important role Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman had played and his support for the Commission. He (Musa) had allowed roundtable discussions on the issue of foreign workers between relevant agencies and stakeholders. It is through these brainstorming sessions that many approaches, strategies and solutions were formulated and referred to both the state as well as the federal governments,” he said.
Pairin also advised the public not to be easily swayed by opposition’s allegations against Barisan Nasional (BN) but instead evaluate what the ruling government had done for them with an open heart.
“We understand that the BN government is not perfect but no one can deny that BN has maintained the religious and racial harmony, provide peace and stability to the country since Independence.
“Compared to BN, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is only capable of acting because in reality, they are not capable to bring peace, stability, harmony and prosperity to Malaysia,” he said and was of the opinion that opposition parties had come together based on politics of convenience as they hate BN, and their leaders have dreams to be the prime minister of Malaysia.
Pairin said the only thing binding them together was their political ideologies, and while they might agree on the name ‘Pakatan’, they differ in all other areas such as registering the coalition, what symbol and flag to use; they have no shadow cabinet and no future prime minister or chief minister.
He added that the public must also be wary of a local opposition party that only cropped up during election time.
He disclosed that this party had borrowed the name of a party from Sarawak and claimed that it was using sensitive racial issues to garner support from the people.
On the power sharing issue among BN component parties, Pairin expressed hope that the matter could be discussed in a workshop so that a solution could be found for all issues raised by Coalition members in the past.
“I urge that the issue be given full attention and discussed openly so that it reflects the BN consensus and the 1Malaysia concept. We can reach a consensus if we can sit together with mutual respect and determine our future in the context of BN’s agenda.
“I propose that the power sharing concept includes political appointments in the state administration, statutory bodies or GLCs as well as government departments at district level. The government should be guided by the power sharing concept under the BN work frame,” the Infrastructure Development Minister stressed.
According to Pairin, in the past few years, there had been numerous accusations made against PBS by individuals or groups who did not understand the party’s politics and struggles all this while.
“They are questioning if PBS is still relevant for Sabah, and although the party is disappointed with the talks, there is no way to avoid the accusations,” he lamented.
“I would like to stress today that what PBS is fighting for since the day it was formed is still relevant. I see that there are some Sabahans who are still set in their old ways because to them PBS is still outside the government and they want our political style to remain as it was when we were in the opposition.
“However, our struggle in defending the welfare of the rakyat in Sabah is not solely dependent on our political style. PBS had chosen the opposition path but we realized that the rakyat’s welfare is more important,” he stressed.
Pairin pointed out that it is important for the BN government to be given the mandate in the coming election so that it can continue with its transformation programs effectively.
He wants PBS to work hard to ensure that BN is victorious and warned its members of expulsion from the party if they are found to have sabotaged the Coalition.