Re-entry into BN not a failure, says PBS

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) information chief Johnny Mositun says his party has not deviated from, nor will it fail, in achieving its political, social and economic agenda as a result of re-joining the Barisan Nasional (BN) in 2002.

"PBS remains as committed as ever to the progress and development of Sabah in tandem with the rest of the country," said Mositun, who is also Sabah state assembly speaker. "This is not empty rhetoric."

He was commenting on criticism from Sabah Democratic Action Party's (DAP) Sri Tanjung state assemblyperson, Jimmy Wong, among others. Wong wanted to know whether PBS was still committed to addressing Sabah's woes since its return to the BN.

According to Mositun, the party's record spoke for itself.

Specifically, he said, PBS had taken up issues such as rural and urban poverty, economic imbalances, land ownership, job opportunities, discrimination in appointments and promotions in the public sector, educational opportunities and land matters.

However, Mositun did not provide any details on the party's track record in these areas.

Wong trying to 'incite' the people

On the Borneonisation of the federal service in Sabah, Mositun dismissed Wong's accusations as "an issue to incite the people and seek their sympathy".

He did not dwell on DAP claims that a substantial number of the 96,000 federal civil servants in Sabah were from Peninsular Malaysia. Wong also asked why almost all heads of federal departments in Sabah were from Peninsular Malaysia "after nearly 50 years of Malaysia".

The PBS, Mositun said, would maintain its commitment to the 20 Points and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.

"We are against any narrow interpretation of these documents. The broader spirit of the federation and many other issues need to be addressed in the interest of Malaysians in Sabah."

He said it was unbecoming of Wong to suggest that illegal immigrants in the state were the "fixed deposit" voters of the Sabah BN, especially Umno, and that BN component parties would soon be reduced to irrelevance.

"Wong cannot substantiate his allegation that BN component parties in Sabah are a temporary bridge for Umno while it waits for the illegal immigrants to multiply and become the permanent bridge for the party," said Mositun. "The DAP is just using the illegal immigrant issue to confuse the public, using conjectures, speculation and highly irresponsible statements."

Mositun also said PBS was working seriously on resolving the protracted issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah. He did not refer to PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan publicly setting a 2012 deadline, late last year, for the federal government to get all illegal immigrants out of Sabah.

Wong did not seem to understand that BN component parties were bound by certain "protocols and principles of political decorum" within the coalition. PBS, he said, was no exception.

"We are not making excuses," Mositun added.. "But this (what we are doing now) is the better path, the only practical way to cooperate and work within the BN framework and administrative system."

He expressed confidence that the approach taken by PBS within the BN would help resolve the myriad problems facing the state and nation, and that this included the issue of illegal immigrants.