Sabah opposition strongman Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan has denied that he made up comments that purportedly disparaged Sabah Umno.

NONE Jeffrey ( right ) had claimed that former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had confided in him his regrets in bringing Umno to Sabah.

“(Sabah) deputy chief minister Yahya Hussin was not there with me and Mahathir,” said Jeffrey, who chairs the Common Interest Group Malaysia (CigMa) non-governmental organisation.

“So, how can he say that I was attributing things to Mahathir that he did not say about Umno coming to Sabah?” he told Malaysiakini on the sidelines of the Kota Kinabalu PKR division annual general meeting.

Yahya, who is also Sabah Umno liaison secretary, was reported to have said it was impossible that Mahathir could have regretted bringing Umno to Sabah, given Mahathir was himself the architect of the move. 

Mahathir, according to Jeffrey, made the confession after the latter was released from detention under the Internal Security Act in 1994, just after his elder brother, Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan, had called for snap state elections.

“It does not mean that just because Mahathir was the one who brought Umno to Sabah, he could not regret his action.”

“He looked me in the eyes and told me with a straight face that he regretted it,” Jeffrey insisted.

Mahathir 'insincere' about Sabah

He reiterated that Mahathir’s purported regret was based on his observation that “Sabah Umno leaders cared only for themselves and not the party or the people”.

Jeffrey said he is willing to partly concede, however, perhaps Mahathir was “insincere and just meant to smooth ruffled feathers in Sabah.”

NONE Mahathir himself, said Jeffrey, “like many Peninsular Malaysian leaders”, does not care about the people of Sabah.

The intention behind Umno’s entry into Sabah was to further erode the autonomy of the state in favour of Peninsula Malaysia  “and to make up for the forecast loss of Parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia”, he claimed.

To his suggestion that Umno pull out from Sabah, Jeffrey said Mahathir told him that this was not possible on account of “ maruah ” (pride).

“Yet when it suits him, he has been willing to swallow his pride and eat humble pie,” said Jeffrey, pointing to the readmission of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) into BN after claiming the doors to the former had been closed and that the “keys” had been “thrown away”.

'Umno compromises Sabah security'

The people of Sabah should dissociate themselves from Umno and send it “back to Peninsular Malaysia,” said Jeffrey, since Mahathir and his successors have not been willing to voluntarily pull the party out from the state.

Umno’s presence in the state, he claimed further, compromises its security and autonomy as pledged under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.

“It’s an open secret that illegal immigrants are on the electoral rolls and have joined Umno as members,” charged Jeffrey.

“Where does that leave the people of Sabah? Where’s the security promised us by the Malaysia Agreement?”

bn supreme council mt meeting sapp sabah issue 190608 pairin kitingan While the opposition is the only means by which Umno can be removed from Sabah, Jeffrey said he recognises this will be no easy task.

He noted, however, the role of his very own brother - Pairin ( left ), who is also PBS president - as the sole pillar propping up Umno in the state.

                    

“The day Pairin leaves the scene or withdraws support for Umno, the party will collapse in Sabah like a house of cards,” said Jeffrey.

“That’s why Mahathir re-admitted PBS into the BN - to make use of Pairin to prop up Umno in Sabah.”