‘Tumodo noh’ to the Sabah we knew

 

In the Kadazan language, “tumodo noh Sabah” means “goodbye Sabah”. It’s time to say goodbye to the peace-loving state which thrives on its diverse cultures and tolerance.

A member of PAS has been given free passage to become a nominated member of the Sabah state assembly.

It only shows how weak the natives of Sabah have become.

PBS president Maximus Ongkili and STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan, both representing the Kadazan Dusun communities, should resign as they have failed to prevent PAS’s entry by the backdoor.

Despite their weak protestations and denial, they failed to prevent something within their control. They were willing to compromise their remaining principles and the future of Sabah for short-term gain.

In his latest statement, Jeffrey said the appointment of a PAS assemblyman is a non-issue. But before this, it was an issue. Our leaders are like common padi stalks that bend in whichever direction the wind blows.

PAS was not given any seats to contest in the recent state election because the KL political handlers knew they could not win against Warisan’s slogan, “we are here to build a nation, not a particular race or religion”.

In an online portal, the new PAS representative, Sabah PAS secretary Aliakbar Gulasan, said he loves unity.

“There is no way that I will bring an agenda that will destroy the peace and unity that we have in Sabah. I forgive those who have commented negatively about PAS members in Sabah. It may have been a misunderstanding”, he said.

There is no misunderstanding going by PAS’s record. If he believes in unity, then why is he with PAS?

Hadi’s position on only Muslims being in charge

Let’s refresh our memories.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has always been consistent on his stand that only Muslims must lead Malaysia and hold all core positions in government because Muslims are the “dominant” force in Malaysia.

Muslim Malays who are the dominant race must be appointed to leadership positions due to Islam’s position in the Federal Constitution and that the monarchy consists of Muslims. The same goes for key positions in the country, such as the judiciary, administration, security and defence because of the prestige these positions bring, he said.

When Richard Malanjum was appointed as Chief Justice of Malaysia, Hadi protested his appointment because he was a Christian.

After attending the racially-charged Malay Dignity Congress in October 2019, Hadi explained his party’s presence at the controversial event. Among the demands from the congress included that main positions within the government were to only be filled by Malay-Muslims.

The resolutions for only Malay-Muslims to occupy these positions were adopted at the congress. Hadi’s position on the administration of Malaysia has been consistent.

PAS is not about unity, it is more about creating disunity and it will happen in Sabah sooner or later as they now have a foothold in the state legislative assembly.

As a Muslim, Hadi’s religious morals are questionable. On Facebook, where he has thousands of followers, Hadi wrote a lengthy opinion piece entitled “Rule of Law: Where is Allah?” and stressed the importance of Islamic laws in governing the country.

Hadi argued Muslims should continue to trust Muslim leaders regardless of the crimes they may have committed. He warned Muslims that they will end up in hell if non-Muslims are allowed to participate in governing the Muslim majority country.

In his piece, Hadi stressed that Malaysia can only be saved by Muslims and Shariah law, which he said is superior to man-made laws. Hadi urged that the government leaders who were ousted in last May’s 2018 election, be pardoned for their crimes after former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed said that no one is above the law and civil and criminal statutes apply to all regardless of religion or status.

What was PAS’s intention behind RUU355?

We should also not forget when Hadi tried to introduce the bill known as RUU355, to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965. Leaders in Sabah and Sarawak protested as it was against the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

What was PAS’ intention? Was it not to introduce a harsher version of Islamic law in the country, similar to Saudi Arabia?

We can go on and on why we should not let a wolf into a sheep’s pen. Enough is said. To be fair we should not blame PAS in any way. It’s not their fault that they got a seat in the state assembly.

The purpose of the six nominated seats appointed by the chief minister was to give minority representations in Sabah and not some religious group whose platform is to create an Islamic state. If PAS wants representation, they should earn it by standing for elections and not through the backdoor.

So what now for the Kadazan Dusun and natives in Sabah who are constantly complaining about illegal immigrants and their religion being under threat. One prominent Kadazan Dusun leader told me, it’s a sad day when your own leaders betray you.

That seat could have been given to the leaders of the underprivileged community or the disabled so that their voices could be heard. It is sad when you give it to a Muslim party with origins from Malaya, and which have the sole intention of creating a Muslim state.

With Hadi’s stand, non-Muslims cannot achieve greatness as did Richard Malanjum in occupying high positions in Malaysia. All because our leaders have become impotent and care more for self than the state. Tumodo noh Sabah! - FMT 

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.