KOTA KINABALU: United Borneo Front (UBF) chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan fully supported and respect Nilakrisna James’s decision to join United PasokMomogun KadazanDusun Murut Organisation (UPKO).
Jeffrey said UPKO, headed by Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, had shown a real commitment to the Borneo Agenda and even participated in some of our tea parties.
“They have not joined the Borneo Alliance that I’m promoting as they have chosen to remain with the Barisan Nasional. Nila intends to promote the Borneo Agenda through politics and has informed me that she will continue to participate in the UBF tea parties as one of our invited guest speakers,” he said.
“We have discussed the matter in great detail and came up with a succession plan for UBF to ensure its longevity and sustainability. She will continue to promote the UBF’s struggle and though she will not be part of the new UBF committee, she will always be known as the UBF co-founder,” he added.
Both Dr Jeffrey and Nilakrisna, one of the co-founders of UBF, have in the past made visits together to distinguished individuals in pursuit of their interest in Borneo’s political history and what they describe as “the extraction of precious gems of history”; notably a visit to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in early 2007 and more recently to former SNAP Minister Datuk Amar James Wong.
Dr Jeffrey added, “I acknowledge with great thanks and appreciation the ideas, research and efforts of my co-founders and supporters. I hope that we can in some way or another continue to contribute our ideas and assist the new UBF Committee under BHF. I will introduce the new committee in due course.”