Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau
KOTA KINABALU (July 30): United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (UPKO) President Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau has hit out at his Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) counterpart Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili.
Tangau pointed out that it was not only UPKO that acted to leave Barisan Nasional (BN) because PBS did the same thing after a few weeks followed by LDP, PBB, Gerakan, PRS, SUPP and SPDP.
He said if that move (by UPKO) was considered as ‘hopping’ then what PBS did was also ‘hopping’.
“But why is UPKO the only one to be criticised and treated badly? And what’s worse is that those parties are involved in a huge betrayal of the people when they joined the backdoor government forces in the Sheraton move.
Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili
“Isn’t accepting the ministerial position an act of collusion and legitimizing Sheraton’s move? Doesn’t that mean agreeing to the act of party hopping? What principles does Maximus use?” he asked.
Tangau in a statement on Saturday claimed that the whole country knows that the insistence on the drafting of the Anti Party Hopping Bill is a result of the Sheraton move which has resulted in the country’s political instability.
“Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to advise Maximus not to continue to be a hypocrite. In addition to legitimizing Sheraton’s move, PBS also openly gathered at the residence of former Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman to celebrate the presence of assemblymen who jumped from the Warisan-PH-UPKO coalition government in July 2020 which ultimately led to the dissolution of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly at that time. This is strong evidence that PBS legalizes the act of party hopping,” he claimed.
UPKO, he said, adheres to the principle of strongly opposing the act of party hopping.
Based on that principle and stance, UPKO together with its friends in Pakatan Harapan (PH) signed a MoU with the government to ensure political reform and stability that involves law reform including anti-party hopping laws enacted to save the country from acts which can destroy the future of the country.
“In the PH-Government MoU, the main condition we set is to ensure that parliamentary reforms including the Anti Party Hopping Bill are presented and approved at the same time. This is a clear proof of UPKO’s principles and stance.
“Instead of wasting time making baseless statements Maximus should work hard to implement the MA63 he promised within six months. As the Minister of Sabah and Sarawak Affairs, Maximus must fully resolve the Federal Government’s controversial position that Sabah’s right to receive 40 percent of the federal net revenue collection from Sabah as contained in the Federal Constitution no longer applies,” he said.
He asked Maximus for the latter’s and PBS stand on the matter?
“Do you support the erosion of Sabah’s rights? As the Minister of Sabah and Sarawak Affairs, we have not yet seen any action by Maximus regarding this matter. For us, the representatives of the people of Sabah in PH, the best possible step to find a solution is court action and we have already taken legal action to ensure that Sabah’s constitutional rights are respected and fulfilled,” said Tangau.
On Thursday, Maximus said Tangau had repeated history when he abandoned Barisan Nasional to form a government with Parti Warisan in 2018, despite signing a memorandum with PBS and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) at the presidential council that same year.
He said he believed that with the passing of an anti-party hopping law in Parliament, which was expected to be gazetted in September this year, political stability could return to the country and politicians would behave with principle and integrity.