Kota Kinabalu: The war of words between Parti Warisan and Parti Bersatu Sabah over illegal immigrants continued, Tuesday, with two Warisan leaders accusing PBS President Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili of singing a different tune after barely five months.
Warisan Deputy President Datuk Darell Leiking said Maximus was being “irresponsible” in slandering Warisan without providing proof.
He said in June, it was Maximus who revealed that a BN component party had given identification cards (IC) in exchange for votes.
“He said this in his party’s annual meeting, i.e. that a BN component was behind the ICs-for-votes scandal. He did not even dare name the party at the time,” Darell told a press conference.
The incumbent Penampang Member of Parliament (MP) recalled that Warisan leaders were told by Maximus “not to ask stupid questions” when they asked him to expose the BN party.
“I’m surprised Maximus cannot even reveal the name of the BN component party. But now, he blames Warisan and accuses our supporters as illegal immigrants,” said Darell who reminded Max the burden of proof lay with the person who made the accusations.
Warisan Vice President Terrence Siambun also challenged Maximus to factually prove his allegations that Warisan is PTI-friendly. He said the party would proceed to sue Maximus for defamation if he failed to do so.
“This is the second time Maximus has made false accusations against Warisan.
“A few days ago, he linked this party to the sudden increase of registered voters on the electoral roll, even though he admitted last June that a Barisan Nasional component issued identification cards to PTI in Sabah to enable them to cast votes in elections,” he said, in a statement.
Terence said Maximums’ allegations had spread among netizens and the Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) community, which sparked confusion among Sabahans.
Maximums in his speech during a Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) tour in Tenom last Saturday, said PBS was not ready to work with Warisan “on grounds that Warisan was allegedly PTI-friendly”.
“I am sure Maximus knows the legal process in this country where the accuser cannot make accusations without any solid evidence because then the act is categorised as defamatory.
‘As the Warisan Vice President representing the KDM people, I challenge Ongkili to provide solid evidence regarding his accusations. If he fails to do so, we will start proceedings against him,” he said. He said the proceedings are to ensure the party’s name remains untarnished and to guarantee the integrity of Warisan’s leaders, members and supporters at the grassroots level.
On Sunday, Warisan President Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal also said he would explore legal avenues to stop Maximus from using the undocumented immigrant issue for political mileage.
Shafie said PBS often used the PTI issue against Warisan in every election.
In response, Maximus called on Warisan to prove that it does not back PTIs as a denial alone was not sufficient.
Meanwhile, on preparations for the Penampang parliamentary seat, Darell said Warisan would be facing a difficult challenge as it faces off with coalition-based parties such as Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“They are looking to gain extra seats in Sabah because all these coalitions are aware that they won’t win all seats in the peninsula,” he said.
He also said Warisan is keeping its doors open to working with parties that share the same mission to safeguard Sabah’s rights and interests as stipulated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
There have been growing calls among local politicians for the formation of a Borneo bloc of the two east Malaysian states which consist of 56 seats in the 222 seat Parliament.
He said the ultimate goal for Sabah is to form a Borneo bloc with neighbouring Sarawak. “However, Sabahans need to prove they can stand on their own without depending on peninsula-based parties.”
He said it is understandable if Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) would have reservations to work with Sabah as long as we still had ties to West Malaysian parties and fight among themselves.
“If I was GPS, I will not openly support any party in Sabah yet. We have yet to show our own drive. Here you have local parties being part of big coalitions from BN, PH, PN and GTA (Gerakan Tanah Air),” said Darell.
Furthermore, he noted Sabahans have yet to break free from the grip of Malaya-based parties, highlighting the increasing voices from Sabahans to leaders to emulate Sarawak’s GPS which consists of local parties.
However, he said this political landscape would not be achieved as long Sabah’s politicians are attached to parties that are based in Peninsula Malaysia. To make his point, Darell underlined that national parties were unsuccessful in their attempts to find their way into the Sarawak state government.
“Sarawak has shown us the way forward, especially when it comes to highlighting issues important to Sabah,” he said. Between the two neighbouring states, Darell said one glaring difference is that Sarawak has never formed its state government with Malaya-based parties.
As a result, the only challenge they face in GE15 is from Pakatan Harapan(PH), ostensibly because both BN and PN were “afraid” of contesting against local parties and hope instead that GPS will cooperate with them to form the federal government.
“There is no reason for Sabah not to do the same as Sarawak,” said Darell. For this reason, he said Warisan would campaign and partner with other Sabah parties but without coalitions.
Among those who attended the press conference include Warisan Secretary General Datuk Loretto Padua, as well as other senior Kadazan, Dusun-Murut (KDM) Warisan leaders.
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