Partyless Jeffrey confirms he will stand
Terence NettoPublished: Jan 23, 2011 2:05 PM | Updated: Jan 23, 2011 2:08 PM
Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who left PKR earlier this month, confirmed today he would be a candidate for state and Parliament in the next general election, either in Pensiangan or Keningau, both KadazanDusunMurut (KDM) strongholds.
Jeffrey said it wouldn't matter if by the time of the general election, a new political party he planned to form does not materialise.
Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who left PKR earlier this month, confirmed today he would be a candidate for state and Parliament in the next general election, either in Pensiangan or Keningau, both KadazanDusunMurut (KDM) strongholds.
Speaking to Malaysiakini on the sidelines of the national conference in Kuala Lumpur on the future of marginalised and minority communities in Malaysia, Jeffrey said it wouldn't matter if by the time of the general election, a new political party he planned to form does not materialise.
"The next general election in Sabah and even in Sarawak would be fought not so much along partisan political lines but on whether a candidate is for the Borneo Agenda or not," he asserted.
Jeffrey's presence at today's conference was to lend moral support to the organisers; he left the speaking to his ally, Daniel John Jambun, who also departed PKR recently and who made the case at today's conference on one item of the Borneo Agenda – the illegal immigrants issue.
Some 1.7 million people in Sabah are reportedly holders of blue identity cards obtained by means considered dubious by exponents of the Borneo Agenda who are gathering around a pressure group called United Borneo Front, led by Jeffrey.
With Jeffrey confirming that he will stand as a candidate in the next general election, the question arises as to whether the opposition parties in Sabah would be vying with each other in multi-cornered fights with the BN.
"We must work together," said Jeffrey, in response to the possibility of vote-splitting by the opposition.
Jeffrey was nonchalant about the threat from PKR. He expressed doubt whether those not in support of the Borneo Agenda could make headway in Sabah, electorally.
‘Tea party’ in Penampang
As tell-tale evidence he cited his need to catch a return flight to Sabah in the afternoon to be at a ‘tea party' in Kampong Ganang in Penampang, near Kota Kinabalu, in the KDM heartland.
The term ‘tea party' is reportedly fast catching on in Sabah, in apparent emulation of the Boston Tea Party, an epochal event in the history of the American Revolution that freed the United States from British suzerainty.
Points on the Borneo Agenda resonate with themes of the American Revolution, hence the popularity of ‘tea parties' in the argot of those who see themselves as fighting against neo-colonialism, which is how a growing number of Sabahans see their lot vis-à-vis Umno-BN controlled Putrajaya.
"Both Sabah and Sarawak will continue in the next general election, as it did in the last, to decide the balance between the political forces on the Peninsula," offered Jeffrey.
"This time, however, the forces on the Peninsula that want to take Putrajaya will have to demonstrate how they will support the Borneo Agenda before they can earn the support of elected legislators in Sabah and Sarawak," opined Jeffrey.
The Borneo Agenda encompasses such perennial items of concern as increased oil royalties for Sabah and Sarawak, civil service intake and appointments, revenue-sharing between federal government and the states, and the illegal immigrants issue.
These are all issues of arduous complexity which proponents of the Borneo Agenda claim can only be resolved if deed is matched to word.
"That is why we need a compliance mechanism for then we are guaranteed to see that what the parties and personalities on the Peninsula have agreed to in the Borneo Agenda, these would be introduced," said Jeffrey.
He said proponents of the Borneo Agenda come from all sides of the political arena in Sabah and Sarawak which is why he is confident that the agenda will ultimately be attained.
"Although I will stand in the next election, this agenda is not subject to the constraints of time and of elections. Interest in its implementation transcends all those constraints," he said.
Speaking to Malaysiakini on the sidelines of the national conference in Kuala Lumpur on the future of marginalised and minority communities in Malaysia, Jeffrey said it wouldn't matter if by the time of the general election, a new political party he planned to form does not materialise.
"The next general election in Sabah and even in Sarawak would be fought not so much along partisan political lines but on whether a candidate is for the Borneo Agenda or not," he asserted.
Jeffrey's presence at today's conference was to lend moral support to the organisers; he left the speaking to his ally, Daniel John Jambun, who also departed PKR recently and who made the case at today's conference on one item of the Borneo Agenda – the illegal immigrants issue.Some 1.7 million people in Sabah are reportedly holders of blue identity cards obtained by means considered dubious by exponents of the Borneo Agenda who are gathering around a pressure group called United Borneo Front, led by Jeffrey.
With Jeffrey confirming that he will stand as a candidate in the next general election, the question arises as to whether the opposition parties in Sabah would be vying with each other in multi-cornered fights with the BN.
"We must work together," said Jeffrey, in response to the possibility of vote-splitting by the opposition.
Jeffrey was nonchalant about the threat from PKR. He expressed doubt whether those not in support of the Borneo Agenda could make headway in Sabah, electorally.
‘Tea party’ in Penampang
As tell-tale evidence he cited his need to catch a return flight to Sabah in the afternoon to be at a ‘tea party' in Kampong Ganang in Penampang, near Kota Kinabalu, in the KDM heartland.
The term ‘tea party' is reportedly fast catching on in Sabah, in apparent emulation of the Boston Tea Party, an epochal event in the history of the American Revolution that freed the United States from British suzerainty.
Points on the Borneo Agenda resonate with themes of the American Revolution, hence the popularity of ‘tea parties' in the argot of those who see themselves as fighting against neo-colonialism, which is how a growing number of Sabahans see their lot vis-à-vis Umno-BN controlled Putrajaya.
"Both Sabah and Sarawak will continue in the next general election, as it did in the last, to decide the balance between the political forces on the Peninsula," offered Jeffrey.
"This time, however, the forces on the Peninsula that want to take Putrajaya will have to demonstrate how they will support the Borneo Agenda before they can earn the support of elected legislators in Sabah and Sarawak," opined Jeffrey.
The Borneo Agenda encompasses such perennial items of concern as increased oil royalties for Sabah and Sarawak, civil service intake and appointments, revenue-sharing between federal government and the states, and the illegal immigrants issue.
These are all issues of arduous complexity which proponents of the Borneo Agenda claim can only be resolved if deed is matched to word.
"That is why we need a compliance mechanism for then we are guaranteed to see that what the parties and personalities on the Peninsula have agreed to in the Borneo Agenda, these would be introduced," said Jeffrey.
He said proponents of the Borneo Agenda come from all sides of the political arena in Sabah and Sarawak which is why he is confident that the agenda will ultimately be attained.
"Although I will stand in the next election, this agenda is not subject to the constraints of time and of elections. Interest in its implementation transcends all those constraints," he said.
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