JEFFREY IS FLIRTING WITH PBS?

By: QUEVILLE TO (FMT)

UNITED Borneo Front (UBF) and Barisan Nasional partner, PBS, are in discussions aimed at coming to some sort of understanding over the ideals championed by the two organisations.

Confirming the discussions, UBF Chief Jeffrey Kitingan said PBS has many good leaders who support UBF’s agenda.

“There are many good leaders in PBS who have told us that they subscribe to what we’re doing in UBF. We are definitely moving towards unity with PBS where our agendas have converged.

“I have taken note of PBS’ stand and we are having talks. I have also spoken to leaders in other parties and we will make announcements,” he said.

Jeffrey, the younger brother of PBS leader Joseph Pairin Kitingan, said that he did not want to be misinterpreted “in the same way that UBF supporter, Daniel John Jambun, was misinterpreted in the media recently on issues concerning UBF.

“UBF issues press statements officially only through Nilakrisna James and if phone interviews are conducted, I have the locus standi to answer as the leader.

“It is not right to approach a supporter and put Daniel, our protégé, on the spot for an issue affecting UBF.

“I understand that half of what Daniel said was not even published by the newspaper which has taken his statements out of context.

“Since we have just started UBF, I would like to be given the chance to make people understand what UBF, the Borneo Agenda and the Borneo Alliance are all about without being partisan.

“We need to be united under a common agenda first before we Sabahans and Sarawakians can move forward with strength and confidence,” he said.

Pressure group

Responding to weekend newsreports that he and his supporters had rejected a PBS invitation to join the party, Jeffrey said: “Political parties can come later.

“My people are united in UBF but they are free to choose what political parties they want to join which subscribes to the UBF Agenda, but I am confident that when they do, they will seek my counsel.”

On whether UBF will only attract local parties, he said that all parties registered under the Registrar of Societies (ROS) are ‘national parties’ and therefore there is no such thing as a ‘local’ party.

He assured potential supporters that they need not resign from their existing political parties to join UBF because “at this stage UBF is just a pressure group and civil rights movement” aiming to unite Sabahans and Sarawakians into one force before there is further erosion of their rights.

“If two-thirds of Parliament agrees to further amend our laws which directly or indirectly erode our rights and privileges, we do not have the critical mass to be able to object,” Jeffrey said.

On whether UBF intends to challenge the validity of the Malaysia Agreement internationally, he said that UBF’s immediate plans are to educate the people on history, laws and economics.

He added that it is the Common Interest Group Malaysia (CigMa) which would bring the matter up to the international level.

He acknowledged that there are two issues frequently raised by the people – the legality of the Malaysia Agreement and laws restricting or eroding political and economic empowerment amounting to a breach of human rights.

“These are the issues which are infuriating the people. This is why we are pushing for the government to ratify international laws unconditionally to secure our full democratic freedom to question whether or not the laws which are passed or amended have been strangling our economic and political developments.

“We are also seeking to review laws which may have breached human rights,” he said.

Land grabs

Meanwhile, Jeffrey said that farmers at Kampung Sayap in Kota Belud had submitted a memorandum to UBF during its roadshow there on Sunday highlighting the loss of their livelihood and homes in areas which in the 1970s were designated for the cultivation of cocoa and other cash crops.

“The villagers have told me that in Taman Sabah the state has altered the boundary to take over lands that the villagers have cultivated for nearly 40 years. This is their main source of food and income.

“This is not an isolated case; it’s happening in other parts of the state as well,” he said.

“I suggest that we either move the boundary back to its original position and allow the farmers to continue with their cultivation or adjust the borders and take only areas which the farmers have not used for their crops.

“Just because the villagers are voiceless and naïve, it doesn’t mean that we can simply bulldoze our way through without hearing their objections first.

“They have tolerated this for a long time and lately have told me they are being forcibly told to leave the areas,” said Jeffrey.

Also present at the roadshow were other UBF leaders including Nilakrisna James and Zainal Ajamain.