KOTA KINABALU – A Sabah opposition leader has admitted that the previous Warisan-led state administration and Pakatan Harapan federal government had wronged their rivals in their two years in power.
United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, in a statement yesterday, said elected reps from parties that now make up the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state administration and Perikatan Nasional had been treated unfairly in terms of the disbursement of constituency development funds (CDF).
“I have to admit that PH Plus – I myself included – had not been empathetic enough towards the opposition when we were in the federal and state governments.
“We started to offer CDF to opposition reps, which was not done under Barisan Nasional.
“However, (at the time,) we refused to treat opposition colleagues as equals, as we did not give them the equitable amount of CDF.
“We held back some CDF to be managed by our party colleagues using various excuses. We were wrong.
“PH Plus must have the courage to admit their mistakes. We should have loved our neighbours, even if they were in other parties, like we loved ourselves and colleagues in our parties.”
The PH government comprised PKR, Bersatu, DAP and Amanah, while Warisan and Upko were friendly to the pact.
PH lost power to PN in February after Bersatu pulled out of the former coalition, along with a handful of PKR leaders, to form the latter pact.
In Sabah, Upko was part of the then ruling Warisan-PH-Upko alliance. However, only PKR and DAP were part of PH’s state chapter.
The state Bersatu was formed last year, with most of its leaders being former Umno members.
Despite being part of PH, Sabah Bersatu leaders, including Datuk Seri Hajiji Md Noor, who now heads the GRS state government, were not given any positions in the Warisan-led administration.
With Bersatu out of PH, the state alliance was named Warisan Plus ahead of the Sabah election in September.
It lost to GRS, which comprises Sabah Bersatu, Sabah Umno, Sabah Star, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah and PAS, while Parti Bersatu Sabah is an ally.
GRS is aligned with the PN federal government.
Madius said CDF had not been distributed equally among MPs and assemblymen.
The Tuaran lawmaker also expressed admiration at the new Perak menteri besar for giving out equal CDF to all reps, regardless of party.
“Datuk Saarani Mohamad has given Malaysians an invaluable and exemplary practice of multi-partisanship as a parting gift to the stormy year of 2020.
“I want to also register my highest respect for the wisdom of my PH colleagues in Perak, led by the state’s inaugural opposition leader, Abdul Aziz Bari, for making this possible via the first confidence and supply agreement in Malaysia.
“Umno and PH in Perak have shown Malaysians how politics can be professional and gentlemanly, that we politicians can rigorously compete and sincerely collaborate with one another, like athletes of great sportsmanship.”
He called on Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and all menteris besar and chief ministers to emulate Perak.
Putrajaya must give RM3.5 million to all MPs in an equitable manner, he said.
“So must all the 12 other state governments for all their assemblymen, based on their capacity to provide. For instance, RM3.5 million each for Sabah and RM200,000 for the states in the peninsula.
“I personally call upon my chief minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Md Noor, to give equitable CDF to assemblymen and MPs in Sabah. In Sabah, MPs are given CDF by the state government, but (funds) allocated to opposition MPs are customarily channelled to the division head of the leading government party.
“This practice is wrong, and I urge Hajiji to correct it. Bersatu division chiefs do not need CDF, but opposition MPs need it to help their constituency. I look forward to the soonest opportunity to discuss this matter with the chief minister.”
He also urged the menteris besar and chief minister of Selangor, Penang, Negri Sembilan, Johor and Perlis to follow suit.
“On this blessed day (Christmas), I pray that Malaysia will be blessed with empathy, compassion and sportsmanship in politics in 2021.”
Previously, several Sabah opposition assemblymen, including Luyang rep Phoong Jin Zhe of DAP, had called on the GRS administration to provide allocations to opposition members of the state assembly. – The Vibes, December 26, 2020
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