By Queville To
UBF president Jeffrey Kitingan says the concept is
line with the Borneo Agenda to hand over power to Sabah and Sarawak.
KOTA KINABALU: The United Borneo
Front (UBF) is pushing for a “1-Country, 2-Systems” type of administration in
Malaysia – one for Peninsular Malaysia and the other for Sabah and Sarawak.
UBF
chairman-cum-founder Jeffrey Kitingan said this was in line with its “Borneo
Agenda” and aspiration to restore political autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak.
Speaking at
its recent Borneo Tea Party gathering and Hari Raya open house held in Dataran
Bengkoka, Pitas, Kitingan said the vast distance between the two regions with
the South China Sea between them emphasised their differences.
“The
differences in indigenous people, culture, language and heritage should be
taken into consideration in the administration of the Borneo states of Sabah
and Sarawak in addition to the historical fact that Sabah and Sarawak together
with Singapore and Malaya formed the Federation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.
He
complained that Sabah and Sarawak had now been downgraded to be the 12th and
13th states in Malaysia and ruled by the Peninsula and Peninsula-controlled
political parties.
However,
Kitingan is optimistic that changes are gradually taking place since his
detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the early 1990s for saying
exactly the same things he is championing now – the rights of Sabah and the
20-Point Agreement.
“The rights
of Sabah and Sarawak are now openly being discussed including on the Internet,”
he said, adding that even some government leaders have timidly questioned the
erosion of rights of the people of Sabah and Sarawak.
Sabah for Sabahans
Kitingan
said that as far as state rights were concerned, “every Sabahan regardless of
race, religion or creed” should be included and no single group or community
should claim exclusivity.
“The causes
championed by UBF are for all the people in Sabah and Sarawak and not for
personal interests or positions. Leaders may come and go but the causes of
Sabah and Sarawak and their people will continue regardless of race or
religion.
“As a
non-aligned non-governmental organisation, UBF is race, religion and colour
blind and holds the view that Sabah is for all genuine Sabahans,” he said.
Answering his critics that he has been capricious and
temperamental, Kitingan said he has not wavered from his cause of fighting for
the rights of Sabah and Sabahans although he has always been accused of
party-hopping.
He explained he left the previous parties as they did not have the political will or direction to champion the causes of Sabah and Sabahans.
He explained he left the previous parties as they did not have the political will or direction to champion the causes of Sabah and Sabahans.
He also
said that Sabah and Sarawak had lost a rare opportunity to seek restoration of
their rightful position as equal partners in Malaysia during the so-called
“political tsunami” of the 2008 general election when the Barisan Nasional
government lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament.
He blamed
leaders of the two states who placed their party’s interest above that of the
people during the tense horse-trading for position and power after the 2008
election that saw then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi being shunted aside
by his party.
Real problem
“They were
tied… in the BN government and failed to capitalise on the opportunity to seek
the rights of all Sabahans and Sarawakians,” Kitingan said.
He added
that so far the 2008 election had only brought about an official recognition
that Sept 16 is the day Malaysia was formed and would be celebrated as such
from 2010.
Kitingan
also softened his stance on the issue of the hundreds of thousands of illegal
immigrants in the state. He said they cannot be directly faulted as they are
mainly here to make a living.
He said the
real problem lay with the government which has exploited them by unlawfully
granting them Malaysian identity cards and voting rights to ensure their
political survival and retain their grip on power.
“These
illegal immigrants are no longer called ‘PTI’ (Pendatang Asing Tanpa Izin) but
‘Patai’ (Pendatang Asing Tetapi Ada IC),” he noted.
Source : FMT
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