All in the family: Pairin wants brother back

PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah) President Joseph Pairin Kitingan wants his younger brother, Jeffrey, to forget about opposition politics and return to the party's fold.

No time frame is being set for the younger Kitingan (extreme left) in photo to abandon PKR, where he's a vice-president, to accept his elder brother's offer to return to the family's ‘business" in PBS.

It is not known whether some of Jeffrey's supporters in PBS, concerned over "the continuing rot in the party's political fortunes", were involved in forcing Pairin's unusual display of political bravado.

Pairin is generally known as a man who doesn't like to make mistakes and to ensure this, he avoids making drastic decisions.

He would rather wait and see and allows a process to follow its logical conclusion.

Hence, many people find dealing with him a frustrating experience.

But what is strange is the fact that Pairin ( left ) is not making the "re-join PBS" offer directly to his brother but through a vice-president Herbert Timbon Lagadon who has, of late, been more often in the news with his anti-Anwar Ibrahim statements.

"Dr Jeffrey should seriously examine his position in PKR and Pakatan Rakyat which is inclined more and more towards violence and the politics of extremism," alleged Lagadan after conceding that he was asked by Pairin to issue the statement.

"We call upon Dr Jeffrey, as a promoter of peace and the rule of law to quit the opposition and re-join PBS which stands for peace. He should show that he disapproves of the growing unethical behaviour of some PKR leaders."

Lagadan said that PBS leaders fear what lies ahead for Jeffrey should he continue to associate with the ‘political gangsters in the opposition' "since no one is above the law".

"Regardless of political affiliation, a legislator must respect the rule of law," said Lagadan.

"If legislators behave in an uncivilised manner, sooner or later, an uncivilised and rebellious society would be bred."

"The police should arrest law-breakers. Otherwise, this nation would disintegrate into anarchy."

‘New political blood welcome'

Lagadan put forward the theory that PKR was now in disarray and mostly pre-occupied with patching up cracks here and there while trying to tarnish the government's image in the hope of winning the people's support.

He labeled recent demonstrations led by the opposition alliance as "a desperate move to try and make their presence felt".

Lagadan also claimed that Jeffrey's supporters, both within and outside PKR, have realised that PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim has "a condescending attitude" towards Sabah and Sarawak.

Besides, Anwar (left) is "openly disrespectful "and has "a colonialist style" of treating Sabah and Sarawak leaders, added Lagadan.

Gombak MP Azmin Ali, the new Sabah PKR chief, was also castigated as a dictator for "replacing the old guard in the state leadership with new blood".

"PBS would always welcome back Dr Jeffrey as he was one of the founding leaders back in 1984," said Lagadon.

"If the BN (Barisan Nasional) stays focused on programmes based on the 1Malaysia concept, then sooner or later, the opposition would become irrelevant and obsolete."

In the political PBS' thinking, Jeffrey could ‘escape this inevitable irrelevance (of the opposition) by returning to his original platform' to continue the political struggle he began with his brother nearly a quarter century ago.

Jeffrey is not the only PKR leader that Lagadon has invited into PBS.

Several days ago, he extended similar invitations to PKR vice-youth chief Jaffery Jomion and senior PKR Youth leader Daniel John Jambun.

Both came forward to defend Jeffrey when Lagadon suggested that he and his people had been side-lined in PKR and were being taken for granted.

The duo also told Lagadon publicly that the party's doors were always open to him since he "seemed to be so concerned over what is going on in Sabah PKR".

Jeffrey was not immediately available for comment.

An aide said that he was away in Tambunan, in the high country, visiting his aging mother over the weekend.

His mobile phone appears to have been either switched off or out of range.

PKR insiders say that PBS in particular has been feeling increasingly vulnerable in recent months as the opposition parties in Sabah are making inroads in areas which were won by a small margin by the ruling party.

Silent approach not working

PKR, in addition, has restructured and emerged as a more open and democratic vehicle where everyone has a fighting chance to contribute and lead.

Critics, on the other hand, point out that PBS has been laid-back ever since its re-entry into the BN "and Pairin continues to squat on the Dusuns and Muruts".

PBS secretary-general Raden Malleh's public line is that the party has been adopting "a silent approach and working behind the scenes" in serving the rakyat.

Such rhetoric has generally invited negative and even hostile feedback in the local media.

PBS leaders appear to have realised, albeit belatedly, that Jeffrey is crucial to keeping the Dusun and Murut votebank within the BN.

While Jeffrey is an enigma of sorts in Sabah politics, like Sapp's (Sabah People Progressive Party) Chief Yong Teck Lee, PKR insiders rule out any likelihood of him returning to PBS on the grounds that "there is no place for him or his ideas in the party".

It is not known whether Jeffrey would change his mind and return to PBS if Pairin calls it a day and quits politics for good, something reckoned "too good to be true".

Has been on the move searching

Jeffrey has been on the move ever since he left PBS in 1994 when the party fell from power on the back of massive defections, a month after snap state elections.

He has previously explained his party-hopping as an attempt to find a vehicle which can accommodate his political philosophy.

"I have always been consistent in my political struggle for Sabah rights, and there's no reason for me to stay even a minute longer in a party which no longer subscribes to my beliefs," said Jeffrey not so long ago when he was publicly criticised by various quarters for abandoning PBS and being "inconsistent".

It's unlikely that an appeal to Kadazan-Dusun-Murut unity within the BN will impress Jeffrey.

He's known to be deeply disappointed with brother Joseph Pairin and even more so with Maximus Jonity Ongkili, his nephew, who remains PBS deputy president and is also the federal minister for science, technology and innovation.

Ongkili's insistence on being Pairin's heir-apparent was the straw that forced Jeffrey out of PBS.

In recent months, Ongkili has hinted more than once in recent months that this would be his last term in the party.

So far, Jeffrey has not taken the bait.

Speculation is that Pairin may be forced to make his overtures public.