Jeffrey eyeing as many seats as possible for STAR in GE15

 

Jeffrey Kitingan says STAR was born in 2016 out of his desire to start a party to pursue his struggle after having been part of other parties previously.

KOTA KINABALU: Perikatan Nasional (PN) component Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) wants to contest as many seats as possible in the next general election (GE15), its president Jeffrey Kitingan said today.

The Sabah deputy chief minister said STAR has set its sights on more seats than the nine previously stated by a party leader.

“Realistically, it is difficult to say because the political scenario is different today (but) anything can happen,” he said, during the party’s fifth anniversary celebration at its headquarters here today.

STAR secretary-general Guan Dee Koh Hoi had previously said the party was hoping to contest nine out of the 25 parliamentary seats in GE15.

One of them is Keningau, the sole MP seat held by the party currently through Kitingan. Besides that, Guan Dee had said STAR was eyeing Kota Belud, Tuaran, Sepanggar, Putatan, Penampang, Ranau, Tenom and Pensiangan.

Meanwhile, Kitingan also said he wanted the party to be present in all the 73 state constituencies to ensure its political ideology reaches every corner of the region.

Currently, STAR has a presence in 64 constituencies.

He encouraged the younger generation to consider STAR as their political platform and urged party leaders to start recruiting and engaging youths to ensure they understand their roles as voters once they reach the age of 18.

“We should reach out to youths aged 15 and up. These are the people who will lead us in the future.

“I will not be here forever, but I am glad we have so many young leaders among us. They will continue the struggle,” Kitingan said.

In his speech earlier, Kitingan said although only five years old, STAR’s struggle has been ongoing for more than three decades, dating back to when he was a political activist in the 1990s.

He said he had overcome numerous hardships including being imprisoned but that he never faltered.

“I joined several political parties but none of them were able to fulfil my aspirations. It never occurred to me at the time to start my own party. I didn’t want to do it.

“However, after a while, I realised that starting my own party was the only way I could continue my struggle, and thus, STAR was born in 2016. STAR will never abandon its philosophy despite being part of the Sabah government now.

“We will continue to fight for Sabah rights and demand that the federal government return the rights that they have taken away from us under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” he said.

On the party’s role in the Sabah government, Kitingan said STAR is pleased to be part of the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition.

He also expressed high hopes that his many ideas for Sabah which he has discussed with the chief minister will be accepted.

“(If accepted, then) Sabah will be able to strengthen its own resources so that we don’t have to rely on the federal government for our development.

“In fact, we already have something in the pipeline, which will be announced next January.

“We can’t rush it due to the movement control order, unfortunately. But rest assured, once this announcement is made, Sabahans will be pleased,” he said. - FMT