Kota Kinabalu: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) President Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said the current scenario in Sabah is a political disturbance by some power hungry politicians rather than a political crisis.
“What we had was a political disturbance by power hungry ‘political bandits’ or pundits from Umno, Warisan and PKDM (Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat).
“Fortunately, the fire was quickly put off to restore solidarity and unity following a headcount by the full support of assemblymen during the State Legislative Assembly sitting on Jan 10 this year.
“A formal voting in the House was not even necessary. Count of signed statutory declarations (SDs) was sufficient,” said Dr Maximus, who is also Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Deputy Chairman, in a statement Tuesday.
He said this declaration of political support for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor put to rest any attempt by the three groups of political bandits, whose original and ultimate aim was to replace the state's premier leader and dislodge the GRS government.
Reorganisation has since taken place, including replacement of unfaithful political leaders who were part of the original GRS administration, as well as appointments from other political parties which have declared support for a Sabah Unity Government, namely Pakatan Harapan and DAP, and some faithful and principled Umno leaders who pledged the commitment to the leadership of the GRS-led Government.
Hence, he said the effort by the three groups of “political bandits” to sing a song supporting the principle of Unity Government espoused by the Prime Minister and as commanded by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, sounded ridiculous.
“It is rather a shame for these politicians to sing a different tune so that they would be included into the newly formed administration after their previous attempt to dislodge the Chief Minister failed. Isn't it shameful that after failing to dislodge the Chief Minister and his Government, you suddenly want to be invited to be part of the government?” asked Dr Maximus.
He added that the call for a “cooling off” period for Umno Sabah, as proposed by its President and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, is to be welcomed because any effort by groups to strengthen Sabah political unity and solidarity is good for the people of Sabah.
“As one of the GRS leaders, it is my hope that the call truly comes from the heart and intended to strengthen the GRS and Sabah unity government.
“PBS also calls for renewed commitment for solidarity and unity among GRS partners. In politics, the principle of give and take, especially for the sake of the rakyat is always premium, even if such decisions go against our emotions and inner beings.
“We, in GRS, have always been moderate and reasonable, and it is not easy to simply accept new friends, or difficult old friends, what more those who were once our strong political enemies in the past, such as the DAP and even PH, particularly for us in Sabah.
“So, for us among the political partners in GRS, we had to swallow our pride and forgive and try to forget the past for the sake of Sabahans unity, what more when such a call for unity and solidarity was commanded by the Agong.”
“In the last two years, there were hardly any complaints from Umno pertaining to the running of the state administration, but suddenly they wanted to dislodge the Chief Minister with the help from opposition parties.”
Dr Maximus noted that Hajiji could have chosen a respectable path if he was unable to keep the majority in the State Legislative Assembly, which was to go back to the people at the grassroots and call for a premature state election.
“But he did not want Sabahans to go through another round of election. Enough is enough.
“So I call on my colleagues in GRS to continue strengthening our State Government so that we can speed up the Sabah Maju Jaya goals for the good of Sabah and Sabahans, in line with our GRS slogan - Sabah First!”
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