KOTA KINABALU – Former Sabah secretary Tan Sri Simon Sipaun has lashed out at party-hopping assemblymen, saying they have greatly betrayed voters who put them in office.
In an interview with The Vibes, he said the lack of laws preventing elected representatives from switching parties is the reason for “frog politics”.
Sabah used to have such legislation, but the high court in 1992 struck it down on the grounds that it went against freedom of association, a right enshrined in the federal constitution, he added.
The state will go to the polls on Saturday, following the Sabah Legislative Assembly’s dissolution at end-July on the request of Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, now the caretaker chief minister, after 13 reps pledged support for his predecessor, Tan Sri Musa Aman.
“In Sabah, anything is possible,” said Sipaun.
The 82-year-old former Malaysian Human Rights Commission commissioner highlighted the issue of illegal immigrants, saying their presence in the state has altered its social, cultural and economic landscape.
Locals have blamed the state’s rising crime index on illegals, and Sipaun said migrants are responsible for millions of ringgit in unpaid bills at public hospitals, which are funded by the federal government.
According to the Statistics Department, about a third of the 3.9 million people living in Sabah are foreigners, with a sizeable number comprising those without papers. – The Vibes, September 24, 2020
