JEFFREY IS NOT A KING MAKER

By : DATUK SERI WILFRED MOJILIP BUMBURING

THE STATEMENT by Dr Jeffry Kitingan confirms what I have suspected about his role and mission in approaching the 13th general election. As an opposition party STAR should be directing their attack to the Barisan Nasional instead they choose to attack fellow opposition parties. They only do this because STAR is working for BN to split the votes in the coming election.

Jeffry Kitingan can’t find any other words to attack me apart from describing me of practising politics of ‘cari makan’. If l were to practise politic of 'cari makan' then the best platform would be to remain in BN.

Generally, you wouldn't find it very ironic for someone who left the comfort of a ruling party like BN to join the the opposition camp and thereafter be labelled as practising politic 'cari makan'?

Jeffry came to this desperate act because STAR is falling apart since the formation of APS. The dissolution of the Papar STAR is but the beginning.

The people, particularly the KDM began to see the fruitless and almost fairy tale so-called vision of Jeffry Kitingan such as promising to move the capital of Sabah to Keningau and creating five ‘states’ in Sabah if STAR take control of the state after GE 13.

Personally I can expect this so called vision from a person who claims to be able to see fairy and able to communicate with the spirits of river stones and jar.

"My political history is well recorded and I need not have to eloborate. In contrast, the people in general especially Sabahans are well versed with the political record of Jeffry Kitingan.

All his political endeavour points to only one thing and that is, he is trapped in his never-quashed-ambition to be the only number one in any political party that he ever joined and his sheer belief, may be from spiritual guru prediction, that one fine day he is going to be the chief minister of Sabah.

Way back during the PBS era, when Jeffry was released from ISA detention and confined to house arrest in Kuala Lumpur he was allowed to travel to Sabah briefly with the mission to persuade Datuk Pairin Kitingan then to step down as President of PBS and Chief Minister of Sabah and that he will take over the CM post from Pairin.

He called me to have a meeting and I told him that he can come to meet me at my office at the Ministry of Communication and Works but he told me that he is not that free to move around as he is being followed because technically he is still under house arrest.

So I agreed to travel to Tambunan to meet him. In the meeting he told me that he needed my support for him to take over PBS and the state government. I told him flat on his face that there is no way I condone the scheme. Therefore the meeting was brief and I came back and I was made to understand that he went back to Kuala Lumpur.

I also still remember back in 1994 that he wanted to head Parti Democratic Sabah that we registered when he failed to register his own party. Failing this he also tried to wrest the presidency of PBRS but also failed.

Then he thereafter caused big problem in AKAR when he tried to take over the presidency of AKAR. So he had ventured in so many a place to ‘cari makan’. But just ‘cari makan’ is not enough for him. He must have ‘ makan besar’.

Jeffry Kitingan mentioned about ‘about certain people who are prepared to sell their soul to secure position’. Let me remind Jeffry, lest he forgot, about his own record.

Has he not joined the Federal government as a Deputy Minister? Can he also explain to the people about his application twice to become an UMNO member?

Let me clarify to Jeffry that APS is not a ‘sub-servience to any party in Pakatan Rakyat’. As announced by Datuk Seri Annuar recently APS together with PPPS is an equal partner in Pakatan Rakyat.

We subscribe in the national agenda for change. As per the Borneo agenda the Kuching Declaration by Pakatan Rakyat is the Borneo agenda of the opposition coalition.

In the national and the Sabah Buku Jingga contains the comprehensive agenda for Sabah. We in APS believe that in order to achieve change there must be a national coalition of fellow Malaysians.

"Refering to my encounter with Jeffry in my house I asked Jeffry as to what he meant by a ‘King Maker’ and I asked him to explain about his statement that he is ready to support BN.

He said that as a king maker he can bargain. I told him that if he is prepared to support BN then why bother to use STAR, might as well just join BN. Yes of course he won’t join any of the BN component parties because he will never be the number one there.

I also reminded him about PBS. We won the state government but could not formulate and form of changes because UMNO is in control. And PBS always have to beg for Whatever things it wanted.

Our cry about the PATI and poverty in Sabah fell on deaf ears. Sabah had always been taken for granted and forgotten. This was confirmed by Mahathir in his speech in a seminar jointly organized by the Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and the Dayak Chamber of Commerce in Kuala Lumpur that Sabah and Sarawak 'terlimpas pandang' or was overlooked.

Referring to Jeffry’s so called quotation of what I said about ‘demanding and leaving’ I wish to state here that it is a pure addition by Jeffry because those words are not from me. Together with Datuk Maijol, I told him that we in APS will be in a position to press for the interest of Sabah.

Refering to Datuk Yong’s statement that I am not willing to negotiate with STAR I wish to clarify that there are several reasons for this. Firstly how do I negotiate with STAR when their leaders choose to attack me in the media.

Secondly any negotiation with STAR will be fruitless as long as their stand is against parties from Semenanjung Malaysia. Thirdly Jeffry is a person who cannot keep confidential discussions.

I remember during the PBS time we have initiated unity talk among PBS, AKAR and PBRS in KL. After the first round of discussion we have agreed not to reveal the discussion to the public as we have agreed to have further discussion in Sabah.

However as soon as Jeffry landed in Sabah he revealed everything to the press. When I confronted him as to why he did not abide by our agreement he just merely said, “well the people need to be informed”.

I wish to reiterate that APS is all for a united front among the opposition parties in Malaysia and in Sabah. And we believe that the important basis for this is mutual respect and acceptance of each other. It is fruitless to say that we are friends when we continue attacking each other in the press.

APS is ready and ever willing to discuss with SAPP because we believe that their leaders are sincere and honourable and I personally know almost all their leaders especially Datuk Yong. We sincerely hope that some compromises can be achieve for the sake of unity in the opposition.