KOTA KINABALU – The political notion that only Sabah-based parties would be able to realise the development and fulfilment of state rights is incorrect, said Sabah Umno Youth chief Abdul Aziz Julkarnain.
Aziz opined that state-based parties had, instead, done the contrary between the 1970s and 1990s.
He posited that this had caused Sabah to lose control over many matters to the federal government during the reign of “state-based parties”, which in turn had disappointed the rakyat.
“We cannot be so fully dependent on the state parties. We used to have many state parties from the day Malaysia was formed until the 1990s.
“What happened then? Sabah had been, what we would say, downgraded from territory to state, following the 1976 constitutional amendment.
Oil rights were handed over to Petronas in 1976 without the approval of the state assembly. Labuan was handed on a silver platter to the federal government in 1984,” he told The Vibes.
Aziz emphasised that the supposed “divide and rule” policy federal leaders had enforced onto Sabah was actually brought upon by the political disunity stemming from Sabah-based parties such as Usno, Berjaya, PBS, and other minority parties.
He also said that even parties like Warisan, Upko, and PBS have realised the importance of national politics and have established chapters in Peninsular Malaysia.
Umno, BN catalysed Sabah’s political stability in 1990s: Aziz
Still, Aziz said political stability in Sabah only came in the 1990s when Umno and Barisan Nasional took the helm.
Only BN and Umno, following the collapse of the PBS government, administered Sabah from 1994 to 2018, which Aziz said was when Sabah’s rights began to trickle down.
The manifestation of such rights, he said, ranged from the “Borneonisation” of the civil service, the devolution of powers to agencies in Sabah and, ultimately, the constitutional amendment to include the Malaysia Agreement 1963 in December last year.
A Sabahan could become PM someday, don’t limit our potential: Aziz
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the devolution of powers to Sabah and Sarawak on Malaysia Day in 2013, focusing first on education.
More and more of Sabah’s rights are being returned to us. Sabahans should no longer think we are for ourselves only. Malaysia also belongs to us.
“I believe one day a Sabahan can also be the prime minister if we stop thinking that our potential is confined to Sabah,” he said.
To this end, Aziz said there are no longer pure state party alliances in Sabah like before, adding that most state parties are now cooperating with national parties.
“We now have BN, Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan, which had a mix of local and national parties under these alliances,” he said.
Before the 14th general election, Sabah had the United Sabah Alliance, which comprised Sabah Star, the now defunct Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, Sabah Progressive Party, and Parti Cinta Sabah.
Aziz said Umno in Sabah today is regaining its strength since the fall of the Sabah BN government in 2018.
Noting that Sabah Umno’s membership is at over half a million members statewide and is growing, he said: “Umno still has the largest membership in the country, which means we have a more significant say in the party. We could influence the direction of the party.”
“Plus, Umno has BN Sabah, which is composed of local and national-based parties,” he said. – The Vibes, February 23, 2022
