PAPAR: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) secretary-general Datuk Johnny Mositun yesterday said it is most unbecoming of PKR assemblyman for Moyog, Terence Siambun, to call for Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan to relinquish his position as Huguan Siow or Paramount Chief of the Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) people over the former’s opposition to the Kaiduan Dam project.
“Objecting to the construction of the Kaiduan Dam is one thing, but calling for the removal of the Huguan Siow is another thing altogether.
“It seems the YB for Moyog is not beyond dragging the institution of the Huguan Siow into the political arena. This shows just how little regard he has for the dignity of his own race and culture,” Mositun said when he attended a gotong-royong project to construct a river crossing at Kampung Bisuang Kaiduan near here for which he had made a personal contribution of RM1,000 in cash and kind.
He also pledged further assistance in the form of gabions to strengthen the temporary crossing, and assured the villagers that he would convey their request to the proper authorities for a permanent bridge across Sungai Bisuang Kecil.
Mositun said he had been informed by several villagers in the area that they were not totally opposed to the construction of the Kaiduan Dam but were only concerned about adequate and timely compensation and resettlement not too far from their ancestral lands besides also wanting to be assured of the safety of the proposed dam.
“I told them the government has, in fact, anticipated their concerns and is more than prepared to see they do not lose out when the Kaiduan Dam is built,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mositun alleged that opposition to the Kaiduan Dam was the result of a deliberate campaign of misinformation and instigation by opposition PKR assemblymen.
“It is easy to instil fear and distrust in the minds of the rural villagers and exploit their parochial sentiments with glib talk.
“I gather that the YB for Moyog is doing just that, to paint a picture of government oppression and exploitation of the KDM villagers and of himself as the people’s champion,” he said.
Mositun pointed out that a sincere and honourable elected representative, regardless of their political affiliation, owed it to their constituents to present a balanced and objective view of issues so that they would not be deprived of the benefits of development and progress.
“But in this case, the YB for Moyog is doing just the opposite for his own popularity and political vendetta against Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.
“He has given no thought to the problems that his actions would cause for nearly one million people in the greater Kota Kinabalu area or the future of the village children he is inciting to go against the dam project.
“They too will suffer the effects when they eventually migrate to the city in search of work as part of a new, educated generation,” he added.
Mositun also refuted Siambun’s claim that the Kaiduan Dam was not necessary and that other remedies should be sought to avert a water crisis in the greater Kota Kinabalu area.
“The larger problems of the state can only be resolved collectively by the Chief Minister and the state cabinet, and these are being done in a systematic manner. There is no such thing as an overnight solution.
“His rhetoric about reducing wastage, non-revenue water and alternate sources before deciding to build the Kaiduan Dam are based on naive assumptions and ignores the fact that detailed and exhaustive studies were made by government agencies and professionals before deciding on the dam as the best and most practical thing to do.
“The Moyog YB, on the other hand, is relying on simplistic logic and sentiment to influence the rural people for his own political mileage,” he lamented.
If the Siambun cared to remember, Mositun added, the Huguan Siow cannot be held responsible for the myriad problems the former had mentioned in his latest tirade against the latter.
“Those problems he mentioned, illegal immigrants among others, cannot be attributed to the Huguan Siow. Also, Sabah has undergone so many changes of government over the years due to its turbulent politics.
“The YB from Moyog would do well to study and understand our state’s political history and state-federal relations before passing judgement against the Huguan Siow,” he said.
Mositun said he would also like to remind Siambun that the Huguan Siow is only one member of the state cabinet and not the Chief Minister and therefore, Tan Sri Pairin, as the present Minister of Infrastructure, was only carrying out what had been planned and approved much earlier by the State Government.
“The YB for Moyog is only opposing for the sake of opposing, nothing else. Before making disparaging remarks and conducting a smear campaign against Tan Sri Pairin, he should reflect on what he himself had achieved or contributed to Sabah,” he stressed.