Sabah Pakatan Rakyat today unveiled its manifesto for the Batu Sapi by-election, declaring the constituency would be better off with the opposition coalition as it has the people's interest at heart.

Tuaran division chief Ansari Abdullah Its candidate Ansari Abdullah ( left ), who will be contesting under the PKR banner, said the BN is clearly uninterested in the people's welfare, as shown by an alleged land grab by the BN-led state government in Kg Perpaduan between 2002 and 2003.

He claimed the village was set up by the now-defunct BN component party Usno when it led the state government in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Despite that, the ruling coalition demolished the village to make way for a major development project.

Ansari, who represented the families of the 3,800 households in Kg Perpaduan, claimed that the Sandakan Municipal Council had entered a joint-venture with a company owned by one Nasir Yeo, allegedly a nominee of Chief Minister Musa Aman.

"They invited the Sultan of Brunei to invest in the project and built two hotels, including a six-star hotel. There is a lot of land in Sabah, so why do you want to take people's land?" he charged.

Ansari stressed that the Kg Perpaduan residents had a legitimate claim over the land due to their native customary rights (NCR), which he claims the BN government ignored.

"This is recognised by the British... the British are more concerned about NCR compared to the BN government," he said, claiming further that PKR and PAS leaders were harassed and detained by police for fighting for the villagers' rights.

 Voice of the constituency

Ansari pledged that should he win Batu Sapi, he would be the voice of the constituency and raise their concerns in Parliament regardless of religion, race and position.

He also promised to:

  • Defend Batu Sapi's people from continued victimisation by various parties and irresponsible leaders
  • Work with the people to demand development based on their needs and collective abilities
  • Plan various programmes to improve the people's economic status
  • Make sure rural students enjoy the best facilities to help improve their level of education
  • Do his best to bring down the level of poverty and social ills
  • Continuously serve whole-heartedly and with dedication and provide the best service to Batu Sapi's people.

When asked to respond to deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin calling Ansari a ‘ recycled candidate' , he said he has no idea how the deputy premier came to the conclusion that he had contested eight times in previous elections.

"I am sad, because our DPM does not know how to count or maybe the chief editor of the paper does not know how to count," he said when asked to respond to allegations that Ansari had contested in elections eight times in the past.

"I only contested under PKR in the 2004 and 2008 general elections, so it is only twice in the general elections.

"I don't know how Muhyiddin got eight... but politics is not about winning or losing, but the struggle to serve the people," he said.

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