People must reclaim country’s politics from elites, says Upko

 

It is rare to see someone who wants to serve the people, says Upko vice-president Ewon Benedick.

KOTA KINABALU: The ordinary people must reclaim politics in the country which has been dominated by the elites for far too long, says Upko vice-president Ewon Benedick.

He said the confusion in the government’s administration today was due to the political game of the elites who had been in the leadership arena for far too long and refused to listen to the people.

“It is time for politics in the country to be reclaimed by the people like they did during the fight for independence and the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia.

“Leadership at that time came directly from the people but today those who have become the elite control the political game simply because they want to maintain their position.

“We no longer want only a certain group of politicians to manipulate the leadership, we want the people to stand up and make demands. We do not want to see political positions as a family inheritance,” he said in a webinar organised by Upko yesterday.

The Kadamaian assemblyman stressed that Upko, just like any other party, had goals to serve the people but needed to strike a balance between development policies and the grassroots.

He added that political parties must work together during the pandemic.

“We can still play the role of check and balance effectively but at the same time we need to work with other parties because we need to ensure that the people remain protected during the crisis,” he said.

He believed that many leaders of political parties had more desire to be part of the government rather than serving the people.

“Since joining the party leadership in 2005, I have observed many who want to be in government because they feel they will have access to many facilities. It is rare to see someone who wants to serve the people.

Thus, he felt there was a silver lining to Upko not being part of the government.

“Since the establishment of the party, we have always been in the government. The challenges are bigger since we are no longer part of the government but we can learn about a leader based on his perseverance through the challenges,” he said.

Upko was part of the Barisan Nasional government until 2018 when the BN fell. It won one federal seat and five state assembly seats at the last elections and later left the BN coalition. - FMT