KOTA KINABALU: Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Jeffrey Kitingan believes the “secret letter” which allegedly linked PPBM with Project IC was aimed at painting a negative perception among Sabahans against the national-based party.
Speaking to FMT at the Christmas get-together with STAR members in Papar, Jeffrey said the author wanted to ensure PPBM would not be accepted by Sabahans because of Project IC.
Project IC is a reference to the alleged granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants in the 1980s and 1990s, effectively changing the state’s demographics.
“First of all, that letter certainly was not written by former Sabah Umno chief Hajiji Noor. Secondly, the way I look at it, this is the doing of another party who is contending for power higher up. Maybe it has more to do with that than with Hajiji and other former Sabah Umno leaders,” he said.
Jeffrey was commenting on the “secret letter” allegedly sent by Hajiji to all Sabah Umno members, urging them to track down all beneficiaries of Project IC and make them members of PPBM.
The letter also promised that PPBM, led by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, would launch Project IC 5.0 in 2020, implying that the BN government had been actively carrying out at least four rounds of Project IC previously.
Jeffrey, however, said the letter was obviously fake and probably created by cybertroopers to confuse the people and to plant hatred towards PPBM while at the same time, blaming Hajiji and his friends for Project IC.
Commenting on speculation that PPBM would establish itself in Sabah, Jeffrey said it proved that nothing was new with the new government.
“They have already agreed to allow Warisan to be their ally here, but in the end, they sort of pressured Warisan to do their bidding or else, they will bring PPBM in. This is classic divide and rule because they want to control Sabah,” he said.
He pointed to the recent news that the federal government had decided to suspend as many as 56 projects already slated for implementation this year in Sabah but the very next day, it was reported that Kedah would be getting 11 new federal projects.
“This is centralist thinking and proves that the divide and rule principle is prevalent in the New Malaysia. The federal government is only interested in exploiting Sabah.
“They shouted slogans like ‘reformasi’… sure, but as far as the treatment of Sabah is concerned, nothing is new,” he said.
The Tambunan assemblyman and Keningau MP said it was ridiculous that the federal government should take back the money already allocated for projects in Sabah and give the money to other states.
According to Minister of Economic Affairs Azmin Ali, a total of 56 projects approved this year for Sabah have been suspended.
However, a day after Azmin’s announcement, Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir said that the federal government had approved 11 development projects and the upgrading of infrastructure in the state including the construction of multipurpose halls and a commercial complex.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey also slammed the Sabah government for insisting on building a mega dam along the Papar River where eco-tourism is on the rise.
“I have said this even before the new government came along that building a dam is a danger to the environment and it will destroy the potential of the area.
“What will happen to the people here if this is bulldozed through? The government should thus reconsider and build it somewhere else where the effects would be minimal,” he said. -FMT
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