DAP Sabah is not surprised that PBS president, huguan siou and Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan is not keen to abandon BN for the sake of his people (‘Join BN, Pairin to opposition’, Borneo Post February 18, 2011). The former Chief Minister said he is staying in BN to fight for and on behalf of the people.

DAP Sabah would like to remind Pairin that for nine years under his rule there was no attempt to help the natives especially the non-Muslim natives. PBS was quick to discontinue the policy of giving every Sabahan 15 acres of land after ousting the Berjaya government from power.

On hindsight if this policy was continued, the people especially the non-Muslim natives would have had land that they can used to build homes, have a decent livelihood and also improve themselves financially. They could assist their children to go for further studies without hoping for government aid and the children in turn will help their parents and themselves to get out of the poverty entrapment. Today we can see the people who are beneficiaries of the Berjaya government’s 15-acre per Sabahan policy, who have developed their land with oil palm and are now enjoying the benefits of their labour.

DAP Sabah also takes Pairin to task for not helping children of mixed marriages between a native and a non-native. PBS failed to lift the freeze on the issuance of the native certificate frozen in 1982 during the Berjaya era. Thousands of Sino-natives and children of native women married to other nationalities other than a Chinese, have lost out in terms of rights and privileges of a native.

Many of their children did not benefit from scholarships, purchase of native titled lands and business contracts. Even the KadazanDusun Cultural Association (KDCA) where Pairin is huguan siou and president did not recognise and include natives from mixed marriages as members of the association.

 

DAP Sabah is concerned that the BN government is providing communal land to the natives. We see this as a tacit move to confine the natives in communal land akin to confining the Red Indians in America in special reserves.

The land ordinance is very clear when it comes to Native Customary Rights or NCR. Natives must not be restricted in possession of land. Without land the natives will become strangers in their own country. Without land the natives will not acquire wealth and improve their standard of living.

The government must go further than the communal lands. It must undertake to process all the land applications made by the villagers and recognise their claim on land under the NCR. What is Pairin doing to do to convince the BN government to work on this?

DAP Sabah would like to see Pairin pursue Article 153 of the federal constitution where the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak have been reserved quotas for permits and business licenses, federal jobs, scholarships and higher education and settlement schemes in Felda, Felcra and Risda.

The Malays have been well looked after in this respect in West Malaysia. Pairin is however unaware or pretend not to know that many businessmen from Sabah especially the non-Muslim businessmen are spending lots of money to go to Kuala Lumpur to make appointments with federal ministers seeking business opportunities.

Why should they have to go through such a tedious process when Article 153 has given the assurance? Our businessmen have to go at length to beg with Kuala Lumpur. We hope Pairin will study this provision and convince the government to live up to its obligation under Article 153 of the federal constitution.

DAP Sabah realises that during the PBS era the federal government did intensify the systematic legalisation of illegal immigrants and had put them into the electoral roll for the purpose of overthrowing the perceived Christian PBS government.

Umno has finally overthrown the PBS government and is now entrenched in power with the help of the thousands of ‘new bumiputera’. The ‘Project IC’ is an open secret and two authors namely M D Mutalib and Chong Eng Leong have documented it in books that are sold openly. Until now the government has never denied the existence of such programmes and Umno which is very fast in making police reports is surprisingly slow to act against these two authors.

DAP Sabah wants Pairin to take the ‘Sultan of Sulu’ issue seriously. The product of ‘Project IC’ in Datu Akjan is an ex-ISA detainee who upon his release has become a very influential Umno leader in Sabah who is now proclaimed ‘Sultan of Sulu’.

He obtained many multi-million ringgit contracts and is now a very successful businessman and a multi-millionaire. He has blatantly disregarded the law of this country when he proclaimed himself the Sultan of Sulu in Malaysian soil. DAP Sabah asks Pairin how many non-Muslim natives are millionaires?

DAP Sabah understand that when Pairin was chief minister he was powerless to do anything to stop the influx and legalisation of these illegal immigrants. He was powerless to halt them from registering as voters. Pairin knew that only the federal government can stop this activity. Pairin did say that PBS is re-joining the BN family so that the problem of illegal immigrants can be resolved. How near is Pairin in achieving this dream?

Through Pakatan Rakyat this dream can be realised.

Today, these new bumiputera are the fixed deposits of Umno but ironically they are also helpful in many constituencies now represented by PBS, PBRS, Upko and LDP. This is where the non-Umno component parties are caught in a catch 22 situation. A good example is Batu Sapi. PBS has benefited from the large number of new bumiputera in the constituency.

The Sultan of Sulu issue should be an eye opener for all the non-Umno BN component parties. It shows the vulnerability of our people when the other party has gained in terms of numbers. The call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to address the illegal immigrants and the surge in population even by the non-Umno BN component parties continues to fall on deaf ears. The home minister has already poured cold water on their calls.  

For Pairin to ask the opposition to join BN must be the best joke in this Year of the Rabbit. He should do a SWOT analysis and see if he has any strengths at all. Today, Pairin is acting as the major ‘piles’ that has provided strength to Umno. As far as DAP Sabah is concerned Pairin is only fighting for the PBS leaders to be in power and enjoy the perks showered by Umno. We in DAP do not subscribe to Pairin and PBS’ thinking that in BN they can fight for and behalf of the people.

Pairin and the other leaders (Dompok, Kurup and VK Liew) must search their conscience and consider the plight of their supporters and the genuine people of Sabah. Is staying with Umno and BN the right thing to do given Umno’s arrogance and domineering attitude? In BN and with Umno calling the shots, there is no way the other BN component parties can solve the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah. Why should Umno lift a finger to solve this, when they are the culprits who created this monster?

DAP Sabah urges the leaders of the non-Umno BN component parties to see the changing political landscape in Malaysia with the evolution of a two-party system. There is a glimmering ray of hope for genuine Sabahans if leaders of these BN component parties decide to stay away from Umno and BN, and throw their support for Pakatan Rakyat.

We hope that Pairin and the other BN component party leaders can whisper to their supporters to vote for Pakatan Rakyat in the coming 13th general election if they do not have the courage to ditch Umno and BN.

DAP Sabah urges Pairin and other BN component party leaders to give more thought for their supporters and the people of Sabah in general. Your presence and participation in BN is more like wallpaper and obviously rendered irrelevant.

Your voice in BN is muted and does not carry weight. We urge you to make the right move by joining our struggle to free Sabah from the problem of illegal immigrants and to ensure that there is justice for all.