PBS scoffs at second PH manifesto for Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) has urged voters in the interior of Sabah to reject Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) latest manifesto for the state, claiming that it is filled with mere election promises for rural folks prior to the 14th general election (GE14).

PBS secretary-general Johnny Mositun said the “second phase” of the manifesto, which focussed on interior areas, launched yesterday in Keningau by Sabah PH chairperson Christina Liew was too good to be true.

He said he found it amusing that PH thought it needed to come up with more than one manifesto to convince voters in Sabah to elect its candidates.

“They have already launched their manifesto not so long ago. Now they come up with another,” he told FMT.

“It is as if they realised something was not right with the first version and decided to revise it and call it ‘Phase 2’,” he said.

On Friday, Liew had presented the “Phase 2” manifesto at Sabah PH’s Christmas open house which was also attended by representatives of other local opposition parties, including Parti Warisan Sabah, Parti Cinta Sabah and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star).

Liew had said the manifesto emphasised on education, health, quality basic infrastructure, land rights and sustainable development that would guarantee job opportunities for rural youths.

PH had launched its first state manifesto in September in Kota Kinabalu where it promised to create a new deputy prime minister’s post especially for Sabah and Sarawak.

Other than that, PH also promised to return 50% of the federal revenue collected from Sabah back to the state, review and act on the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah, clean up the electoral roll and improve education.

Dubbed ‘PH’s New Deal for Sabah and Sarawak’, the first manifesto was to be part of the coalition’s manifesto at the national level.

Mositun, who also heads PBS’ Liawan division in the interior, said that the latest manifesto was difficult to implement in the interior areas, which are known to be remote and complex.

“This shows that PH actually does not have a competent group of people to come up with a more professional manifesto,” he said.

He said unlike PH, PBS and Barisan Nasional (BN) emphasised on practical and realistic ways to resolve the people’s current needs.

“The BN government is known for its empathy and our leaders always understand the problems faced by our people,” he said. -FMT