‘Jeffrey gave way for Pairin to become CM’

The offer to make Jeffrey Kitingan chief minister of Sabah came through an emissary of then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said a former PBS vice-president.

KOTA KINABALU: A former top PBS official has backed a claim by Sabah STAR chairman Jeffrey Kitingan that he was offered the post of Sabah chief minister by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the Barisan Nasional was working to bring down the PBS-led government in 1994.

Jeffrey’s elder brother Joseph Pairin is the president of PBS.

Yunsof Maringkin, a former PBS vice president, confirmed that he was present when the offer was made and no one other than he knew about the arrangement until Jeffrey disclosed it recently.

However, Maringkin clarified that the meeting which Jeffrey had referred to was actually held here in Kota Kinabalu with Mahathir’s emissary and not in Kuala Lumpur.

The senior lawyer was commenting on the latest series of accusations leveled by the two brothers and senior PBS leaders about the betrayals that led to the fall of the PBS government in 1994 and the take over of power in the state by Umno and BN.

Both Pairin and Jeffrey had each accused the other of being a liar and being stubborn, traits which had eventually led to the fall of the PBS government almost two decades ago.

“I confirm what Jeffrey said in so far as me accompanying him to the discussion but I would like to clear the air and disclose here that we met with an emissary of Mahathir at a location here in Kota Kinabalu which was suggested by me,” Maringkin told a local newspaper.

According to Maringkin, he advised Jeffrey not to meet the emissary at their suggested location because he sensed the possibility of the meeting being manipulated to the effect that he had left the party (PBS).

He said there was a detailed discussion at the meeting which was held after the 1994 election results were announced on working towards overcoming the political impasse then.

Maringkin added that the emissary confirmed that Mahathir had agreed to offer the chief minister’s post to Jeffrey.

But Jeffrey however had replied that he could not be appointed directly as chief minister to form the state government since he was not the president of the party which was the requirement under the state constitution.

‘Issue never discussed in PBS’

Maringkin also said that Jeffrey had suggested to the emissary to allow his brother to form the state government and this was conveyed by the emissary to someone by telephone.

Maringkin then said that the person on the other end of the line replied: “…on condition that Pairin forms a cabinet consisting of not more than five elected representatives including himself so that there will be room for negotiations for a coalition government then.”

According to Maringkin, the person on the other end further said “.. After Pairin forms the government of five members only, Mahathir would then in a televised press conference announce the appointment of Pairin and Bernard Dompok to be pulled out of the state Cabinet.

“Only then would Kitingan be appointed by the Head of State to be the chief minister to form the coalition government.”

Marinjin said on Jeffrey’s instruction, he conveyed the proposal to Pairin who was waiting at the istana gate.

“Pairin in turn instructed me to convey the details of the proposal to Dompok who was waiting at Sri Gaya with the other elected representatives so that they can deliberate over it and I obliged to do so.

“Jeffrey also told me that since they wanted to pull out Dompok, he wants to be cautious.

“He then instructed me to personally tell the then PBS Youth chief Wilfred Bumburing that should the arrangement materialise, he has confidence in the latter to succeed him.

“Jeffrey also said that he did not know why he was picked to be the chief minister of Sabah.

“I did convey the message to Bumburing and I left Sri Gaya with the hope that the arrangement could stabilise the then political scenario,” Marinjin said.

However, he said, he was made to understand later from the other assemblymen, after the collapse of the PBS government, that the proposal was never brought up for discussion as had been instructed by Pairin.

Jeffrey’s fight

In another development, Sabah STAR claimed that Jeffrey’s bid to join Umno a few years ago was part of a plot to destabilise Umno in the state.

According to STAR information chief Edward Linggu, the aim at the time was to break-up Sabah Umno but the plan was thwarted by Mahathir.

Linggu was responding to a recent statement by PBS vice-president Herbert Lagadan.

Lagadan had on Tuesday took Jeffrey to task for accusing Pairin of betraying the state and the people’s interest by working with and supporting Umno.

Lagadan revealed that Jeffrey had applied to join Umno by using his lesser known name Gapari but his membership was revoked after it was revealed that Gapari was in fact Jeffrey.

Linggu said it was a sad day for Sabahans particularly PBS supporters now that Lagadan was trying to justify PBS’ support of Umno and turning PBS into a “coolie” for Umno with himself as a “foreman”.

He said Sabah STAR and Jeffrey’s cause was purely for the restoration of the rights of the state and its people which hae been eroded by the Peninsular and the federal government and often aided by Sabah leaders.

He contended that not only had Lagadan failed to understand Sabah STAR and Jeffrey’s fight for Sabah, “Herbert (Lagadan) has failed to understand the rights of Sabah and Sabahans.”

“Does PBS acknowledge that Sabah is one of three nations that formed Malaysia in 1963 or one of 13 states as in practiced now by the federal and state governments?

“Does Herbert (Lagadan) acknowledge that under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, the natives of Sabah and Sarawak are equal to the Malays in the Peninsular?

“Would the federal government approve the registration of political parties freely and not use the approval process to bar political opponents like Jeffrey and Usno from being registered? Linggu asked.

‘All is not lost in PBS’

On Lagadan’s claim that Jeffrey is a cunning politician, Linggu said: “If Jeffrey is indeed cunning and irrelevant, why would PBS extend olive branches on at least three occasions and try to coax and persuade Jeffrey to return to PBS?”

“At Sabah STAR, we would still like to believe that all is not lost in PBS and that there is still a little bit of time for PBS leaders to re-think and go back to their original path and platform to fight for the rights of Sabah.

“If PBS and their leaders are truly sincere in wanting the best for Sabah and Sabahans, we will welcome them to join us and fight for Sabah’s rights.

“After so many years in the BN fold, it is clear that PBS can fight for Sabah from inside. BN components outside of Umno have no say and things are evident when Sabah BN hardly held any meetings for two years as decisions are made by Umno without any reference or consensus from their BN partners.

“The calls for the RCI by the BN components including a 2012 ultimatum by PBS is a showcase of irrelevance of its partners and of Umno’s superiority over their irrelevant partners,” he contended.

The war of words between the two brothers stemmed from gains being made by Sabah STAR in PBS strongholds.

PBS is worried that Pairin as Huguan Siou or paramount leader of the Kadazandusun community is losing his grip on the community who many analysts believe have switched their allegiance to the opposition.