TAMPARULI: United Pasokmomogun KadazanDusun Murut Organization (UPKO) is on the road to recovery after resolving its internal issues.
According to the party’s acting president, Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau, all those involved have agreed to settle their differences for the sake of party’s unity.
Speaking to reporters after officiating at the UPKO Tuaran and Kota Belud joint convention here yesterday, Tangau said that there was an internal conflict after the party’s election last year.
“For the first time in UPKO’s history, it was a very close party election and we do not deny that what happened had shocked us and it was a tumultuous time that has somewhat affected the party’s unity.
“Five months on, we have taken steps to resolve the issues and all those involved in the election are in agreement that the party’s unity is the top priority,” he said, adding everything would be finalized in the next UPKO Supreme Council meeting.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on federal Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s call to the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership to field 30 per cent of candidates who are aged below 40 in the 14th General Election, Tangau pointed out that it had been done in the 13th General Election.
In fact, the request was not only made by the youth movements in BN. The women movements in the coalition had also been making the same request all this while, he said.
“The BN leadership agreed to the request and in fact this was implemented in the last election but we have to remember not all the young candidates won. For example, UPKO fielded a ketua pemuda (divisional youth chief) in Bingkor but he lost. So this means that, in the matter of candidacy, we not only look at a person’s age and gender, but also leadership qualities,” he stressed.
To the question of the steps UPKO has taken and will take to hone its young members’ leadership qualities, Tangau said that the party had initially set up its Komulakan movement which is quite unique.
“We have also set up a Training and Research Bureau, which is conducting leadership training for the party’s young leaders. We are also looking at opening up the training to the KDM community in the future,” he said.
In his speech earlier, Tangau, who is also UPKO Tuaran chief, paid tribute to former UPKO president and founder, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, who resigned from his post in March this year.
“Yes, we were shocked and UPKO was in denial when Tan Sri Bernard made his decision to resign known, but we respect his decision and to show our appreciation, we appointed him as the party’s honorary president.
“I would like to record the party’s highest appreciation to Tan Sri Bernard for his contributions, commitment and support for 20 years which we in UPKO will use to guide us as we soar to greater heights,” he said.
Tangau, who is also Tuaran member of parliament, said that as the new UPKO leader, he is renewing the party’s vow to the country’s highest echelons that the party will continue to be in the arena with the Prime Minister and also pledged to work harder to enhance the people’s support for the BN, particularly from the KadazanDusun, Murut and native communities.
He also proposed that in the interest of the people’s welfare, UPKO institutionalized seven issues which must be made into resolutions and debated at each of its conventions.
The seven issues are education, religious and racial harmony, infrastructure, citizenship, economy, governance and strengthening UPKO, he said, adding that these issues would be the basis of UPKO’s struggles and to be championed consistently until successful.
Tangau pointed out that the challenge UPKO faces now is finding ways to increase the people’s support for the party and BN.
“Based on the GE13 results, the KDM community’s support for BN was only between 35 per cent to 45 per cent, which is lower than what we had in the past. The result was due to several sensitive issues which the constituents felt were not beneficial to their welfare and had made them felt left out.
“UPKO accepts this challenge and will resolve the problems because UPKO is an institution that can bring the message across via various mediums, including the social network,” he stressed.
Tangau also called in the party’s Youth, Women and Komulakan movements to take steps to increase their members as the rule of the thumb is that the party’s membership in an area, especially in the constituency it is contesting in, should be more than half the number of voters there.
He also said that UPKO would continue to push the government so that it makes the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah public.
“The RCI is among the struggles that has set UPKO apart from other parties in BN and Tan Sri Bernard was very vocal in the matter… this cannot be denied. I would like to stress here that Tan Sri Bernard’s stand on the issue is also UPKO’s stand. It is also as my personal stand as UPKO’s leader now,” he said.
UPKO, he added, reiterates its call to the government to recall all Malaysian identity cards issued in Sabah and re-issue them to those who pass the screening by stakeholders.
The process may take two to three years, but it will be one that reflects the government’s sincerity in resolving the issue and reviving the people’s trust that it is sincere in protecting the state’s security, he stressed.