Pairin attempts gluing fractured Sabah BN

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) President Joseph Pairin Kitingan thinks he has the right formula, albeit temporarily, to end the endless bickering of late within the state Barisan Nasional (BN). He wants a laboratory set up quickly to co-ordinate relations and resolve issues among BN component parties amidst factionalism in Sabah Umno.

The proposed lab, however, appears to be confined to the run-up to elections. At best, it would be a temporary truce.

"The proposed lab will ensure that BN component parties achieve understanding and mutual agreement to further boost the coalition's machinery to face the forthcoming general election," said Pairin, also chief of the KadazanDusunMurut, the majority community in Sabah.

The PBS, pledged Pairin (left), who is also Deputy Chief Minister and state minister for infrastructure development, "is ready to play its role in the lab," adding that the 13th general election could be called anytime now.

He was commenting on various "anti-BN statements" in the local media by BN component parties including PBS.

Pairin did not say how the lab, being temporary, could be more effective than the state BN meeting held regularly to thrash out differences based on the coalition's oft-cited "BN spirit" of consensus-and-compromise and its "power-sharing" formula.

However, the last time that the state BN met officially was reportedly four years ago. This, according to BN's internal critics, left them with no choice but to resort to the media.

Pairin the saviour?

Nevertheless, Pairin swore that he "truly understood the feelings and the heart of the party members in many matters'. These, he added, could be raised during the proposed Sabah BN lab as it would not be just confined to the top guns. The issues could then be forwarded to the state and national BN leadership, he said.

Pairin says the lab would be an important aspect of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) spearheaded by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (right). "The GTP must be fully supported by the people," said Pairin, "Otherwise, plans will just remain plans."

Drawing a parallel with the on-going World Cup soccer games, the PBS chief likened the BN to a football team which needs to change its players from time to time. Pairin was, however ,silent on whether he would be giving up his Keningau parliamentary seat as speculated. "Even so, we must give our undivided loyalty and support to the BN team," he said.

The BN, warned Pairin, needs to change "if it's to continue to get the support of the people". He noted that the opposition had already pledged sweeping reforms as part of their election manifesto. "We need to keep in step with them and take stock of the political tsunami in the peninsular in the last general election.

"We at the BN level ourselves are already experiencing changes, including leadership as well as government policies,"

Propping Sabah Umno

Pairin himself has recently faced much public criticism along with Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman. The duo have formed a formidable combination to ward off attacks on the existing power structure.

Musa (right) has been accused of ignoring the BN's "power-sharing" formula and the BN spirit, most recently by PBS Deputy President Maximus Jonity Ongkili. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the United PasokMomogun KadazanDusunMurut Organisation (Upko) and the Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) made similar complaints.

Critics are questioning Pairin’s contributions after 25 years as PBS chief and nearly four terms, or ten years, as chief minister. In addition, Pairin is being accused by even his own brother Jeffrey Kitingan of propping up Sabah Umno.

It's alleged that illegal immigrants with MyKads have become the real electoral fixed deposit of the BN in Sabah, via Sabah Umno.

This contradict’s Pairin's own public demand, late last year, that the federal government end the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah by 2012.

BN component party leaders are taking Pairin's proposal for a lab with more than a pinch of salt.

Upko deputy president Wilfred Bumburing (left) for one, complained that many of BN’s electoral promises remain unfulfilled.

"These are now coming back to haunt the MPs and state assemblypersons," said Bumburing, also the Tuaran MP. "People are asking questions and we have no answers."

He sees this as a failure that will jeopardise Sabah's position as the BN’s electoral fixed deposit along with Sarawak.

He plans to list down all the promises and hand them over to the relevant ministries.