PENAMPANG: Pritchard Gumbaris of Warisan branch of Kg Kapayan cum Warisan Penampang Divisional Committee has called out DAP’s Kapayan incumbent, Jannie Lasimbang, for a “deeply hypocritical and misleading” statement on the return of Sabah’s rights.
Pritchard said it was ironic for Jannie to talk about “joint efforts to return Sabah’s rights” when her own coalition, Pakatan Harapan, had retracted the 40pc revenue entitlement lawsuit that sought to secure Sabah’s constitutional financial rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He said the same group of leaders once asked Sabahans to consider the feelings of people in Selangor and Penang when Sabah demanded its 40pc revenue return, an attitude he described as ‘insulting’ to Sabah’s constitutional standing.
“It is sheer hypocrisy. You cannot claim to champion Sabah’s rights after withdrawing the legal challenge, defending the warta, and remaining silent when the SLS case was dismissed,” he stressed.
He said as long as Malaya-based parties continue to dominate the Sabah Government, they will act as a bridge to delay, dilute or deny the rightful entitlements of the state.
“Warisan’s stand is clear, Sabah’s rights are not negotiable, and not to consider the feelings of those other states but to make Sabah first,” he said.