Wences stands by statement on Labuan

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KOTA KINABALU: United Pasokmomogun KadazanDusun Murut Organization (UPKO) vice president Datuk Wences Angang stands by his statement calling for Labuan FT to be returned to Sabah.

The former Deputy Chief Minister said that as a community leader, he has the right to be vocal about issues affecting the people.

Wences stressed in a statement yesterday he will not retract the statement made in response to a statement by Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Dato Zainal Abidin.

The Sabah Cultural Board chairman pointed out that the statement was made in his personal capacity as a community leader and a former State Cabinet Minister, and he was qualified to make and issue such statement.

He was responding to the comments by Labuan member of parliament Datuk Yussuf Mahal, former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh and former Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman about his call for Labuan to be returned to Sabah.

According to Wences, Yussuf is his personal friend but as a community leader, he would stand by his statement.

“I wish to state hereto that I am not going to retract what I have said and (will) stick to my point of reasoning. As a Malaysian and a community leader, it is my individual right to voice out issues that affect the rakyat as a whole.

“I believe there is nothing sensitive about what I have said on the issue of Labuan being poorly managed economically by the Federal Government and the suggestion by the Federal Minister to review the status of Labuan as a duty free port due to their inability in controlling and eradicating smuggling activities in Labuan.

“In fact Tan Sri Harris on his part spoke volumes on the failure of the Federal Government to economically develop Labuan although they may have provided development in terms of infrastructures but this is a different picture altogether as the Federal Government is obliged to provide infrastructure development on every inch of Malaysian soil.

“What we are talking about here is economic activities that will not only affect the business community in Labuan but also on the mainland,” he stressed.

Wences said he hoped Suhaili remembered that Labuan is an island and in many aspects has to depend on the mainland.

Most of the daily goods coming to Labuan are from the mainland through Menumbok which is in the district of Kuala Penyu, he said.

“Naturally I am very concerned with the issues raised by the Federal Minister as I am also a community leader in Kuala Penyu,” he said.

“We must not just look at the macro issues but should look carefully at the micro issues. Don’t just take care of the big merchant ships coming in and out but should also look into the plight of the small fishermen’s boats as well,” he said.

Directly or indirectly what happens to Labuan also affects Menumbok and Kuala Penyu and a whole lot of other community, he said.

“Datuk Suhaili speaks about huge federal funding for developments in Labuan. If what he said is true, why then Tan Sri Harris speaks differently considering he being the best person to speak about economic progress in Labuan?

“Again, what I have said is neither political gimmick nor a political statement but a personal view that I feel have no way tarnished anybody’s image, let alone the Chief Minister’s or the Prime Minister’s image.

“My whole point of view is the issue of what happens to the status of Labuan as a free port would affect the business community on the mainland especially in the Kuala Penyu district and this makes me more than qualified to make the statement.”

On a referendum suggested by Harris, Wences said he found the former’s statement ironic because in the first place, Harris did not call for a referendum to find out if the Labuanites or Sabahans for that matter agreed to his proposal before Labuan was ceded to the Federal Government.

“Why must he call for a referendum now to have Labuan’s administrative status returned to Sabah?” he asked.