Limus
KOTA KINABALU: Kuala Penyu assemblyman Datuk Limus Jury has denied claims by Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) information chief Datuk Dr Yusof Yakob that he resigned from Upko for the sake of multi-million ringgit contracts.
Limus, who has declared himself an independent assemblyman, also described as totally baseless Dr Yusof’s accusation that the move to quit Upko was for selfish reasons and not for the rakyat.
“Dr Yusof’s allegation is groundless and prejudicial,” said Limus who, together with Sugut assemblyman Datuk James Ratib left Upko which is a component party of the state ruling coalition on Monday.
Both have pledged their support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as they are confident that the PN government can bring changes to the state and country’s political landscape.
Dr Yusof when commenting on their resignation said the duo were in desperate need of PN support, stating Limus is affiliated with Perwira Progresif Sdn Bhd, a company connected with the Pan Borneo Highway project.
Limus did not deny connection with Perwira Progresif Sdn Bhd as it was a company he founded and worked with before he was elected as Kuala Penyu Assemblyman.
Perwira Progresif, he said, is a qualified Bumiputera company, owned by a KDM and has a track record of successfully completing projects awarded.
“Based on its track record, Perwira Progresif, along with other non-Bumiputera companies, had joined in the Sabah Pan Borneo Project tender. It was given the trust to implement one of the project packages that is upgrading of the Inanam-Sepanggar road.
“Perwira Progresif is not a ‘Ali Baba’ company that gives out its contracts to sub-contractors. It is a KDM-owned Bumiputera company that is qualified to implement that project as well as other projects there were awarded through a very stringent tender process.
“Therefore, Dr Yusof’s allegation that the hundreds of million-ringgit contract were the cause of my resignation from Upko is groundless and prejudicial.”
Limus pointed out that he and James decided to leave Upko because they lost confidence in the party’s leadership which he claimed, is not consistent with its halatuju and struggles.
They also felt that as the Warisan-led state government did not support the PN federal government, it was better for their constituents and constituency that they quit Upko.
Limus in a statement on Tuesday described Upko President Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau as selfish and a hypocrite who is busy pleasing Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
Madius, he claimed, ignored other Upko assemblymen and party leaders.
“As one of Upko’s senior leaders and assemblymen, I had never been given any political appointments in government or government-linked companies. Instead, the majority of the positions were held by Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) leaders.
“But even without any governmental post, I still did my best to provide the best service and aid to the people in my area, improving their fate and future to the best of my ability,” he said.
“However, I would like to stress here that we did not ‘jump’ to any parties. We quit Upko and are now independent assemblymen. So the accusation that we ‘jumped’ does not arise,” Limus stressed.