Tangau (fourth right) and Melter shaking hands after the meeting.
KOTA KINABALU: United Pasok Momogun KadazanDusun Murut Organisation (Upko) intends to act as a bridge for the churches in Sabah, to be their voice in the newly formed state government.
Acting-president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau made the call after a special meeting with the leaders of the Sabah Council of Churches (SCC) on Friday night at The Pacific Sutera.
“This (the meeting) is just the beginning, where we had shared and listened to their views…on some of the policies and pronouncements that has been done by the state government so far and we wanted to seek feedback from them, as to how they saw the things that had been done (by the state government).
“This is so that I (through Upko) could be a bridge (for the SCC) to the state government, to present how best we can address the issues affecting the churches. We will do this in a regular basis,” the Deputy Chief Minister told reporters when met after the meeting.
When asked whether Upko will serve as the voice of the churches in Sabah, he stressed that the party is more than willing to do so.
“Well, I have been talking to them, as how I have been doing all along. They (the churches) are all friends but this (the meeting) is just a preliminary thing that we want to do.
“We will be more than happy to play that role but there is something that we need to discuss further with the Chief Minister,” Tangau, who is also the Industry and Trade Minister said.
Also present in the meeting was SCC president Bishop Datuk Melter Jiki Tais.