As fed-up Sabahans showed the middle finger to Prime Minister Najib Razak for unveiling a toothless scope for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into their illegal immigrants problem, attention has swiveled to Sunday's Kota Marudu rally where Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is due to welcome another senior BN leader over to the Pakatan Rakyat side of the political divide.
The rally slated for 3pm will be closely monitored by both Najib and Chief Minister Musa Aman. But the duo are unlikely to be able to reverse the tide.
Maijol on Sunday, more "big fish" after Raya
The exodus from the BN to the Pakatan began last month when Tuaran MP Wilfrid Bumburing and Beaufort MP Lajim Ukin formed the Sabah Reform Front to unite local leaders to fight for change in their impoverished state. The Sabah Reform Front is not a political party but a movement for change and is aligned to the Pakatan.
Wilfrid and Lajim are expected to be joined by Senator Maijol Mahap, a former Upko vice president, and perhaps a couple of other senior Upko leaders. But aside from Maijol on Sunday, several other "big fish" are due to join after Hari Raya which is expected to fall on August 19 and 20.
"These are all influential homegrown leaders well-known and established with their own grassroots and supporters. They will spearhead the fight to reclaim control of Sabah from the BN which everyone here feels has been too greedy and corrupt with the state's natural resources. The fear is that If Sabah leaders don't stand up now, there won't be anything left for the future generations," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
All eyes are on what Anwar will say tomorrow - whether Saturday's RCI disappointment will spur more top Sabah leaders over to the Opposition.
"I believe Anwar will focus on the main issue - which is unity. He will call on Sabah leaders to put aside their differences because without a united Opposition front, it is very hard to challenge the BN because of their hold over the election machinery," said Tian.
Nothing much that the RCI can do
The indignation felt by Sabahans on Saturday was palpable as they had waited for so long for the BN to acknowledge their grouse that illegal migrants had been granted citizenship and allowed to settle in their state in exchange for promising to vote BN during elections.
The citizenship-for-votes scheme called Project M or Project IC was initiated during the rule of former premier Mahathir Mohamad and aimed at keeping the BN in power.
Earlier this week, Mahathir defended the illegals saying they deserved citizenship. His words were a slap in the face for Sabahans who have suffered overcrowding, rising crime and violence, unemployment and poverty due to the influx of the illegals.
Najib's 8-point terms of reference has been lauded by BN leaders such as Joseph Pairin Kitingan but panned by Pakatan leaders, who warned that the RCI only "sounded wide-ranging" but was actually very limited in scope.
"Can RCI probe Project M and call up Mahathir as star-witness? Can RCI probe those responsible for massive issue of false documents? Why has PM taken six months to finalise eight RCI terms of reference. BN rejected my Sabah RCI motion in Parliament in 2008 - why?" asked Kit Siang.
Meanwhile, Najib also called on BN leaders to remain loyal to the coalition.
"It is normal for water in a teacup to ripple a bit...fun though, to have a little bit of shake but I am confident we will still be able to defend Sabah under the leadership of Musa and his line-up," Bernama reported Najib as saying.
Malaysia Chronicle
Najib said the setting up of the commission proved the federal government's high commitment to investigate issues pertaining to immigrants in Sabah. He said the government hoped that the Sabah people would benefit from the setting up of the commission and give their support to the government's efforts to look for the best strategy and approach to address the problem. Prior to this, several quarters in Sabah, including state BN component parties and non-governmental organisations, were loud in voicing their concerns over the problems of illegal immigrants in the state and wanted the BN government to address the problem.
ReplyDeleteBased on answers given in parliament last year, the population in Sabah, which was 651,304 in 1970, rose to 929,299 a decade later. However, two decades after that, it rose to 1.5 million and in 2000, it was 2,468,246 people. Seven out of every eight urban Sabahans want a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the illegal immigrant problem in the state, which Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders there insist must be held before upcoming elections, according to a recent poll.
Anwar tidak ada cara lain untuk tumbangkan BN selain mengajak pemimpin2 BN lompat masuk ke parti beliau.. Anwar yang sibuk kehulu kehilir hanya berkempen untuk diri beliau gagal membawa masalah2 rakyat untuk diberikan perhatian oleh kerajaan Pusat.. sebab itulah dia guna short cut untuk rampas kerajaan.. kalau bukan create katak, dia akan anjurkan demonstrasi..
ReplyDeleteSekiranya Anwar pun terlibat dalam projek IC di Sabah, rakyat Sabah tidak akan menyokong Anwar lagi.
Deletekan ramai dah pemimpin PKR keluar, jadi Anwar dah terdesak hingga sanggup ambil pemimpin katak.
DeleteBudaya lompat ini biasalah, tiada apa perlu ditumpukan perhatian.
Deleterakyat Malaysia yang bencikan warga asing, patut menolak Pakatan kerana dalam pakatan terdapat ramai pemimpin2nya yang berstatus PR atau memiliki kod 71 dalam kad pengenalan mereka..
ReplyDeletememberikan peluang kepada Pakatan untuk memerintah negara ini samalah dengan memberikan peluang kepada PATI.. sebab itu mereka mahu memberikan status PR kepada PATI..
ReplyDeleteTidak payah, PR haya berjanji untuk memberikan status PR kepada pemegang IC projek dan PATI.
Deletejgnlah sokong PR, Anwar dulu pun terlibat jg dalam projek ic.
DeleteProjek ic yang lama berlarutan harus diselesaikan secepat mungkin.
ReplyDeleteSemua bergantung kepada RCI, adakah RCI betul boleh menyelesaikan isu PATI?
ReplyDeleteSemoga RCI dapat melaksanakan tanggung jawab untuk membuat siasatan isu pati dengan baik.
ReplyDeleteWalau bagaimanapun, harapkan rakyat bijak menilai dan membuat keputusan bijak untuk mengundi pemimpin yang betul berkebolehan.
ReplyDelete