KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) is comfortable with the existing power sharing concept amongst the Barisan Nasional component parties.
Its president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who has been helming PBS since the party was formed in 1984, said this when asked for his views on the talks of turning BN into a single party and the proposed merger between MCA and Gerakan.
He said before any decisions were made on whether the proposal should materialise or otherwise, they would have to take into consideration future projections and where it would lead to.
“If one is forcing another to accept the idea (merger), then it would definitely create discomfort among the members. So where will that take us? I believe what we can do now is to be sincere with one another, and that is the concept of 1Malaysia.
“All the while, we (BN component party members) have been working together, we have not been in one body, so we just have to find a level whereby we can all work together in diversity.
“It is just like our country; we are multiracial, we cannot turn it into a one race country because we are multiracial.
Wherever we go, there are races and traditions, so we cannot mould (it into one race), we can talk about 1Malaysia but we cannot talk about one Malaysian race,” stressed the Deputy Chief Minister cum Infrastructure Development Minister.
He said there was no point in wasting time arguing and debating on whether the creation of one single body would resolve everything.
“It must start with your heart, your head and common sense. You want peace, then work for peace; you want unity, then work together; be sincere.
“If you want unity, lets talk on unity, work on unity and open up your hearts and work out the ingredients for unity … that is how it is done. Even in a family, if you are not sincere, the family can break up, and if you do not have the same direction, you part ways.
“We always talk about unity in diversity, so work towards that. We may be diverse, but we can be united. We are developing a nation and a nation composed by multi-racial groups; many countries are like that,” he said.
He said as it was, they (PBS) are “comfortable as can be” in BN.
“Why are we starting something which we have not laid out the concepts? Why do we want to make one party when we are already one, which is under the BN umbrella consisting of different component parties?” he asked.
The senior politician admitted that he had once proposed to former deputy prime minister the late Tun Abd Ghafar Baba to think of a method to strengthen the patriotism spirit among the people by promoting a multiracial party, and not a communal party.
“And to start off, I suggested to him (Ghafar) that Umno’s name should be changed to United Malaysian National Organisation and not stay put as United Malays National Organisation.
His answer to me was, ‘We will reach there but it is not time yet’,” Pairin told reporters after meeting a delegation from Japan members of parliament, led by Koya Nishikawa, yesterday.
When further asked whether the time had come, Pairin replied: “What are we emphasising now? We talk about 1Malaysia, we talk about moderation, unity and diversity and creating a fair and stable country, we talk about giving fair treatment to everybody and we want to emphasise on developing one nation.
“Is it or is it not time to think in that concept? So that means that if you want to develop a Malaysian nation, you must make us all feel that we are Malaysians, therefore we must emphasise us as citizens of Malaysia, and as Malaysians.
“When I greet you, I do not look at us as a person who comes from a different race but a citizen of Malaysia. We should do this when we go overseas. Some political parties create their clubs outside the country, which means you do not create a Malaysian club, but something else.
“And if you are emphasising on promoting that communal club, then you are not helping to build Malaysians’ minds and patriotism.
“It should be that when we are abroad, we must belong to a Malaysian club and emphasise on being Malaysian. That way you create this feeling of being a Malaysian; a Malaysian who has the same rights as other Malaysians.
“For instance on this particular issue, I am not against the use of Bahasa Melayu as a our national language, but we used to refer to it as Bahasa Malaysia, but that seems to have changed; now we do not talk about the language of Bahasa Malaysia but simply looking at it as Bahasa Melayu.
“So the creation of a Malaysian nation can be lost along the way. We should learn from countries like Indonesia where everyone who converse in their language would refer to it as Bahasa Indonesia.
“Through such simple things, I believe we can instill the feeling of patriotism amongst the citizens of Malaysia. That is what we are supposed to be doing and not upset the momentum which you want to bring the country to by putting up blocks,” he said.
On a question whether he would share his sentiments with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, he said: “Along the way, there are specific indications. But I will tell him personally, if I have the chance, in the right context. It may happen anytime anywhere.”
On the proposed MCA-Gerakan merger, Pairin said a proposal would just stay as a proposal, but a discussion between the two parties would ensure that they are serious with the move.
“Gerakan pulled out of MCA once. So whether they are one body or not, that is not the question. That is just the mechanics of it all. The most important thing is what you want to achieve. Do you want to achieve unity? Then you can have unity in diversity. How you want to go about doing it?
“Your heart must be sincere, your objective must be clear and the same; you want peace, you work for peace; you want unity, you work for unity; you just need to take the necessary steps. But if you are not sincere, whether you are one body or more, it will never work out,” he said.