Sabah’s opposition leader told federal ministers and Umno leaders from Malaya and Sabah not to act like gangsters when they visit Sabah and threaten ordinary folk with arrest.

 

“There is no room for this. The man in the street just want fairness for Sabah and that Sabah’s rights be respected and fulfilled,” said State Reform Party (Star Sabah) chief Jeffrey Kitingan.

 

He was praising Abdul Ghapur Salleh’s recent call to the federal leaders to listen to the grouses of the people instead of threatening them with arrest. It appeared that the MP for Kalabakan was the only BN leader who dared to tick off federal and Umno leaders, he said.

 

Jeffrey added this certainly put to shame federal ministers from Umno Sabah and other BN leaders who had parroted Malayan federal leaders in threatening Sabahans and Sarawakians with arrest, for voicing out on the rights of the Borneo states. 

 

“Unfortunately, until before Ghafur spoke, none of the Sabah Umno/BN leaders had had the guts to voice publicly that Sabah has been wronged by the federal government and that there are genuine injustices to be addressed,” he said.

 

He claimed that Sabah suffered from so many injustices including being pulled into the formation of Malaysia to solve Malaya’s and Singapore’s problems and then was left hanging with nothing than its dwindling dignity and five percent of its oil resources, and injustices caused by the deliberate and intentional distortion of history in the formation of Malaysia.  

 

He said that Sabah Umno/BN leaders were fully aware of the injustices but had only been whispering about them behind closed doors.

 

“Now that Ghafur has brought it out into the open, these Sabah Umno/BN leaders should now stand up to Putrajaya and speak in unison for the restoration of Sabah rights.  

 

“The time has come for them to show that they are patriots not only of Sabah but also of Malaysia as their continued silence can lead to its disintegration,” Jeffrey added.