KOTA KINABALU: There is nothing ‘mischievous, misconceived or misleading’ when Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) president Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Bumburing said the natives, especially the Kadazandusun Murut (KDM) communities, are not pinning their hopes on STAR.
According to APS information chief Lesaya Lopog, the statement indeed is reflective of the sentiment felt by the majority of the natives as issues faced by the community have not been particularly addressed by STAR as evident in its manifesto.
Who would pin their hopes on an organisation that is bent on splitting the state of Sabah into five regions and moving the state capital from Kota Kinabalu to Keningau should they come to power? he questioned.
One can only imagine the enormous amount of expenditures required to realise this so-called ambition, Lesaya stressed.
Other than that, STAR’s tactic is only seen as continuing with the BN policy of divide and rule by disregarding the fact that by splitting the crucial votes of the KDM communities, the BN will be ensured of victory in the coming 13th General Election, he pointed out.
APS, he pointed out, was established with the aim of restoring the dignity, sovereignty and independence of Sabah as a state within the Federation of Malaysia.
This is evident in the Yellow Book outlining the Aspiration and Struggles of the People of Sabah (Buku Kuning Aspirasi dan Perjuangan Rakyat Sabah) which bears the signature of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim being the leader of Pakatan Rakyat when both Anwar and Bumburing jointly signed and launched the book on July 29, 2012.
The book does not in any way outline a so-called Malayan Agenda as alleged by STAR, but instead the book contains a comprehensive and well-documented PR Malaysian Agenda specifically designed for Sabah, he said.
“It is therefore on the basis of this struggle that generated interest among the natives of Sabah, and along with this scenario, the non-native Malaysians of Sabah origin are also coming out in support of this agenda.
“APS’ struggles are about change, change in policy that are no longer applicable to Sabah, changes in the delivery system and changes in the distribution of wealth, namely the oil royalty, management of tax and tariff. The PTI (illegal immigrants) issue is on the forefront of APS’ struggles; issuance of Malaysian identity cards to non-deserving foreigners through dubious means and native customary rights (NCR) issues mostly relating to unresolved land disputes.
“This has been our struggles, and this has been brought up numerous times in every parliament session by Datuk Bumburing ever since he was elected as Tuaran member of parliament in the last election. The lackadaisical attitude on the part of the BN Federal Government in responding, let alone act positively on what Bumburing has been fighting for has brought about his (Bumburing’s) departure from BN, forming APS, and teaming up with Pakatan Rakyat solely with the aim of bringing about a concrete and positive political change for the betterment of the people of Sabah particularly and of the whole of Malaysia in general.
“Datuk Wilfred Bumburing has countless times reiterated that if he could help PR bring about changes; positive changes that would enable this noble Malaysian Agenda for Sabahans and Malaysians as a whole to be realised and implemented; a change that would definitely be remembered for generations to come by every Malaysian without having to be a candidate in the coming general election, then he would be the happiest man in Sabah,” Lesaya said.