KOTA KINABALU – Taking a swipe at Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice-president Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said national parties in Sabah are not a hindrance to the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He was responding to Karim’s view that the control of Sabah by non-local parties is hampering the efforts of East Malaysian states to cooperate to ensure their rights are upheld in regard to MA63.
Karim attributed this to the presence of Bersatu and Umno in Sabah.
Stopping short of saying whether Sabah and Sarawak were able to work together to realise MA63 together, Bung, on the other hand, said that the presence of national parties in Sabah is a non-issue.
“This is just his (Karim) personal views. The main issue is whether the national parties or local, the rights of the people of Sabah are being voiced out through the right channel, in line with MA63,” he said in a statement here.
The Sabah deputy chief minister said Sabah is at an advantage with the national parties running the affairs of the state as dealings with Putrajaya are direct when it comes to development and other matters.
He also noted that the direction of national parties and state-based ones are not different. It was only that their approaches are different.
“When Sabah was still politically aligned before the 2018 general election, developments were rapid. There was no reason to rebel or bring development problems in the state to court, for instance.
“The state only needs to whisper to the federal leaders and the allocation will surely be obtained,” said Bung, as opposed to being under a state administration where development is less effective as there is still a need for allocation from the central government.
Bung said Karim should not have expressed his views on Sabah as to avoid disrupting the good ties between the state and Sarawak currently.
He said if that happens, it could affect the “Keluarga Malaysia” concept advanced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Karim, who is a Sarawak minister, was quoted by Free Malaysia Today as saying that Sabah’s affairs are under the control of non-local parties and the local leaders’ “big bosses are not from Sabah”.
He said when important decisions or policy matters relating to MA63 are needed, Sabah leaders still need to refer to their “big bosses” first.
“Deep down within them, the Sabah leaders would love to be like their Sarawak counterparts.
“I believe they are quite envious of us, the full control we have,” he said, referring to Gabungan Parti Sarawak which has full control in making decisions for the state.
Previously, Bung has been seen as very vocal in demanding federal funds to repair bad roads in Sabah.
But at the Sabah Assembly two months ago, he said Sabah road users need to wait for three years as it was wasteful to repair the Telupid-Sandakan roads since they would eventually be rebuilt under the Pan Borneo Highway project.
Sabah leaders also are also seeking a 40% share of the state’s revenue from the federal government. The 40% revenue entitlement is stipulated under the federal constitution and is one of the key matters related to MA63. – The Vibes, May 25, 2022
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