Huguan Siou (paramount chief) Joseph Pairin Kitingan of the KadazanDusunMuruts may not be a toothless old tiger after all, judging from the fiery policy speech he delivered this morning at the 23rd PBS congress in Kota Kinabalu.

joseph pairin kitingan 010706 Pairin remains PBS president - ‘I know when to go' - despite respectful calls for him to step down gracefully and make way for a younger and more dynamic leadership line-up.

Pairin showed that perhaps he still has some of "the fire in his belly" when he showed flashes of his old self - leading a 47-day old party without any branches or members to victory in the 1985 state polls and winning four consecutive terms in office - during the delivery of his wide-ranging 46-page speech.

"We have never wavered in our struggle. We have and continue to voice out and struggle for the rights and interests of all our people in Sabah," thundered Pairin, dismissing criticism that the party has been silent on the problems faced by the state.

He conceded that PBS' stand on various issues was better known to the world at large and appreciated when the party was in the political wilderness for some years after the PBS government fell in 1994 on the back of massive defections.

"Now, we have to work quietly from within the system," explained Pairin. "But we are just as committed and effective."

The PBS chief reminded those, especially the younger generation, who would be glad to see the back of him, that the party leaders do not only make speeches at meet-the-people sessions and at party meets or in Parliament.

"We have seriously acted out our concerns including in gathering evidence, for example, about the continuing influx of illegals and their presence on the electoral rolls," said Pairin. "We have sent memorandums on this to all parties concerned including the prime minister."

Illegal immigrants and ISA

Pairin said that his party must claim credit for the ongoing federal government operations in the state to flush out and deport illegal immigrants who, might otherwise, "get citizenships through the backdoor and end up on the electoral rolls".

Several other issues, besides illegals, came in for specific mention in Pairin's lengthy speech - an electoral rolls free of illegals and phantom voters; preventing illegals from getting their hands on Malaysian personal documents; the issue of statelessness and the lack of personal documents among Sabahans, not all Sabahans being Malaysians; the Sabah claim which remains unresolved, the ISA (Internal Security Act); freedom of religion; work and business opportunities especially in government at the federal level and the GLCs; what the oil and gas industry means to Sabah and Sarawak; the Sabah Economic Corridor; prospects in the fisheries and agriculture sector; the rise in oil prices and inflation; poverty eradication; and the importance of education and basic infrastructure, especially in the rural areas.

The ISA, freedom of religion and the oil and gas industry were dealt with at quite some length including the formation of a special PBS Committee on the Oil and Gas Industry.

"We will ensure that the laws are not abused. This is especially important in the case of the ISA which must only be used in cases which threaten the security of the state and the people," pledged Pairin.

"We are against the use of the ISA against individuals when there are other existing laws which can be applied. We will definitely not agree with the use of the ISA for a political or hidden agenda.

"We will be preparing and forwarding a memorandum on the ISA as soon as possible to the national leadership."

PBS will also be strengthening the party machinery to deal with issues which transgress the freedom of worship guaranteed by the federal constitution "so that complainants will have a one stop centre to channel their grievances".

No reason for PBS to abandon BN

He reiterated that the benefits of the party re-joining the BN were obvious as it had specific and effective avenues to channel their views and appeals to persuade the state and federal leadership on various issues.

This called for "a more complex, abstract and sophisticated approach as against the old way of filling newspaper pages with open statements".

"It's no use barking at the sky if there's no one to hear us out. So long as the BN is receptive to our pleas about our rights and political struggle, there's no reason why we should abandon the coalition. However, we don't promise the path ahead will always be smooth."

Pairin expressed confidence that the BN government will serve out its full term despite various "political games" played by the opposition since the March 8 political tsunami this year.

This is possible, according to him, "if BN embraces the PBS politics of what brings us together as a people, rather than the old BN politics of what separates us" and made pointed references to the on-going BN re-branding exercise.

"Let this not be an exercise in futility," cautioned Pairin.