KOTA KINABALU – Being one of only two Sabah MPs holding full ministerial positions in the new cabinet line-up, Penampang MP Datuk Ewon Benedick from Upko said he will use his voice to raise issues on Sabah’s rights.
He told The Vibes that while focusing on his duty as the new entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister, he will not neglect his constituencies: Penampang and the Kadamaian state seat.
“I am honoured to be part of the unity government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Being one of two representatives from Sabah, I am also looking forward to raising issues that matter to the people of Sabah, and will work with fellow cabinet members on a solution to those issues, especially on Sabah rights,” he said.
The 39-year-old incoming Upko president – currently vice-president –started his journey in politics in 2005 when he joined Komulakan Upko (Upko Youth) during his final year in computer science studies at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka.
After he graduated, he immediately became an active party member.
Speaking at an interview before the 15th general election, Benedick said he wanted to contest in Penampang because he wants to serve in his late father’s constituency.
He said he had been serving in his mother’s hometown, Kadamaian, as an assemblyman, so he is confident that he could also serve his father’s hometown in Penampang well.
He shared that his father had passed away after he drowned in Sg Moyog, Penampang.
After that incident, he moved back with his mother to Kadamaian, where his mother raised him by farming and selling chillies and vegetables.
Benedick went to SK Kiau, Kota Belud. He obtained his early secondary education in SMK Bundu Tuhan, Ranau before moving to SM St. Michael, Penampang for his upper secondary studies.
Benedick believes that PH is the way for Sabah to have its longstanding rights restored by the federal government.
He said that Upko, as a Sabah-based party, will have more say in Sabah PH after restructuring its leadership soon.
“We (Sabah) never had a national coalition in the state led by a local party before, so this could be the time.
“Being the chairman (of Sabah PH) doesn’t mean that Upko is being dominant, but you are leading the coalition.
“We are talking about Sabah’s rights and how best we can pursue it through our involvement in the national coalition (PH),” he said.
Benedick was the Sabah rural development minister from 2018 to 2020 during the Warisan+ state government.
He won the Kadamaian state seat twice: in the 14th general election in 2018 and the Sabah state election in 2020.
In the recent election, he won the Penampang seat against Warisan’s deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking with 14,410 majority votes.
Benedick is set to officially take over from Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau as the third Upko president on January 16, 2023.
Benedick and Tangau won Penampang and Tuaran respectively, helping Upko win two out of five seats it contested in the election last month. – The Vibes, December 3, 2022
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