Monday, December 14, 2009

BRAVO! GOOD SENSE PREVAILED.


In a recent interview by Off the Edge Edin Khoo and Jason Tan, Datuk Seri Anwar had this to say over the choice of Pakatan Rakyat’s Ketua Negeri of Sabah and Sarawak:

“Of course we stand to be criticized. I have taken a lot of criticism both within and without, but to suggest that there is a disaster….I don’t share that view at all. Well, we’ll see and I believe that finally most of the leaders, including those in Sabah, will agree. WHO SAYS THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE KETUA NEGERI IT MEANS YOU AUTOMATICALLY BECOME THE CM OR MB OF A NEGERI?” (emphasis in caps mine)

Anwar Ibrahim said Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan has been appointed vice-president in charge of Sabah and Sarawak with responsibility for drawing up a master plan to develop the two states, and to prepare for the next general election.

"I recognise the unique circumstances under which Sabah and Sarawak joined the federation. As a nation it is regrettable that we have at times failed to live up to the spirit and ideals of the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 which outlined the rights of Sabah and Sarawak," Anwar told Malaysiakini.



Sabah and Sarawak in 1963 joined Peninsula Malaysia in the belief that the Malaysia Agreement which outlined the rights of Sabah and Sarawak would be sacred and thus upheld. Small erosions of the Agreement, were easily erased with some sweeteners. The UMNO/BN machinery worked overtime as admitted by then Minister of Information, Mohd. Rahmat in his memoirs, to unscrupulously cow dissenters into submission. The landslide control of the people of Sabah and Sarawak was such that  it left the Agreement coffined and buried  when MyKads were given to destitute illegal immigrants from Kalimantan and Philippines, whilst some in the Peninsula died waiting to be recognized as citizens. And yet the original citizens of Sabah and Sarawak laid the red carpet for the BN with 25 and 31 Parliamentary seats respectively. This is akin to cattle being led by the nose for the “slaughter and annihilation of their rights”.

It is therefore the PR’s key objectives to restore the dignity and position of Sabah and Sarawak and uplift from poverty its diverse peoples. He urged “all parties to turn the page on divisiveness, pettiness and work together with a renewed commitment to unity and justice."


Jeffrey Kitingan is said to have told Malaysiakini that that Anwar has gone to "extraordinary lengths" to achieve a deal to unify disputatious factions in Sabah.
 

A relieved Jeffery further volunteered that Anwar  unified the opposition in preparation for the last general election and now he has done the same within one critical wing of his own party that was threatened with needless division.

Several insurmountable hurdles have been cleared but I see one last hurdle. The President of PKR, Wan Aziza was quoted to have said that PKR is one of the weaker links in the coalition. This one last hurdle is PKR itself. Whilst the leopard cannot change its spots,  the exUMNOs who are now in PKR must try to get rid of the SCENT OF UMNO that lingers irritatingly. Anwar has to watch his own people like a hawk before the last hurdle can be cleared. As such, all of us who do not understand and those who pretend that they do understand Sabah and Sarawak, to step aside or get out of the way to let them do their thing. The less we act like Big Brothers, the better to effect change for a new Malaysia.

I wish PR well in their convention because the word IMPOSSIBLE can only be found in the dictionary of fools.
 

5 comments:

nstman said...

I believed, have always believed and will believe Keadilan is the way forward. Keadilan must take the lead but it must always lead by consensus. I believe Pakatan will drive Umno, the most corrupt organisation in the world, to the sea and bury it for good. Nazism, fascism and stalinism may have been consigned to the dustbin of history but Umno will always be there to take up the cudgels and spread the gospel of hate, lies, bigotry, idiocy and stupidity.

Anonymous said...

The right move. Nobody can understand Sabahan and Sarawakian and they must be lead by people in Sabah and Sarawak.Say what you want I wish my brothers in Sabah and Sarawak will now realize that they must work and not take the BN/UMNO bluff no more.
Way foward PAKATAN. It is now with Jefry, Christina and Thamrin and all the people in Sabah and Sarawak.
Let us finish off BN/UMNO in the next PRU!!!.

Jong said...

Never learn, never learn!

Good grief, Jeffrey Kitingan the common denominator in Sabah/Sarawak politics? HahaaHHa, what 'scent'? This toad has been hopping all over and lost sense of what he's doing except to wait for the Big Draw!

Anonymous said...

"WHO SAYS THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE KETUA NEGERI IT MEANS YOU AUTOMATICALLY BECOME THE CM OR MB OF A NEGERI?

That's true.

But AI is not addressing the issue here.

UMNO/BN still rules currently.

If it's the future, let Sabah leaders decide that as they in all circumstances should, plus all the usual bargaining. Kitingan cannot demand that.

It was supposed to be just the issue of State PKR leadership.

"...finally most of the leaders, including those in Sabah, will agree..." - Makes sense to have a free and open forum and there you can urge people to disagree or otherwise.

Anything less makes distinction between change and the current status opaque, hardly what PKR stands for.

Otherwise Kitingan will have to find his own way.

"And yet the original citizens of Sabah and Sarawak laid the red carpet for the BN with 25 and 31 Parliamentary seats respectively. " - The BN is always good at managing suppression complete with the lokap sweeteners and inhuman treatment in Kamunting. Plus good at stealing state resources.

"This is akin to cattle being led by the nose for the “slaughter and annihilation of their rights”. - It has not been easy and many welcome the easing in circumstances. It couldn't have been much different anywhere in Malaysia 2 decades ago and people learn in varying degrees. But circumstances are better now, almost globally.

Selangor must be lauded for leading the way to throw the BTN into the tong sampah!

-Salak-

Anonymous said...

Keep posting stuff like this i really like it