For Sabah’s sake, Pakatan must scale back

The stubborn stand of opposition parties in Sabah will only deprive them victories, says a former political party president.

KOTA KINABALU : The ex-president of the oldest, but now defunct, political party in Sabah has advised opposition parties wanting to contest in Sabah in the coming general election to “re-look” their strategy if they “really wanted to pave the way for change” in Sabah.

Former PASOK party chief Cleftus Mojingol, who is now a deputy president of Movement of Change Sarawak and Sabah (MoCS), said being a seasoned politician who is actively monitoring the political situation in Borneo, he felt compelled to volunteer his counsel as the opposition split seem to be widening as the elections closed in.

“I being a former head of an opposition PASOK, wish to encourage the leaders of STAR, SAPP and PR (Pakatan Rakyat) to re-look at their strategy and chances at the GE13 before they go their own way fighting each other,” he said in a statement issued here.

Mojingol said there could never be victory for them if they are stuck with their respective stubborn stands.

“The issue of seats distribution among the opposition in Sabah is crucial and needs to be resolved if they (parties) really want to pave the way for a change in the state,” he pointed out.

He said leaders of these opposition parties must be responsible enough to help realise the aspiration of the people to have “change” in the government, be it at the national or state level.

“If they failed beyond their own greed, then they must be prepared to accept that their slogan of Ini Kalilah  will be turned to Lain Kalilah  or “next time lah”, thanks to their own grave mistake.

“Opposition political leaders should put aside self-interest, greed or hidden agendas in order to achieve a formula of one-to-one fight with the mighty BN in the coming GE,” he further stressed.

Mojingol, who himself had stood in past elections and lost, said that the lesson from the failed unity among the opposition in the last Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election should ring loud in many of the opposition leaders.

“It is still not too late for the opposition political parties to try and reach a compromise among themselves.

“I humbly suggest to these leaders to consider letting strong national opposition parties to stand in parliamentary seats only, and for only state parties to vie for all the state assembly seats,” Mojingol added.