Oleh: MICHAEL KAUNG
TWENTY-ONE years on, Former Chief Minister, Joseph Pairin Kitingan said he regrets having pulled his party–Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) out of the Barisan Nasional (BN) in 1990.
The humiliating admission by the ‘Huguan Siou’ (Chief) of the Kadazandusun community comes after a number of brickbats were thrown at him by BN coalition members who faulted him for slowing development of the state during his party’s reign in the mid-1980s and early 1990s.
Pairin, who is now a Deputy Chief Minister in the state BN government and leader of PBS, which was re-admitted to the ruling coalition in 2001, has sought to deflect criticism for over a week now about his and the party’s poor judgment.
Speaking to reporters at a sports event here yesterday when asked about the criticism levelled against him and his party by members of the coalition, Pairin said: “There are reasons why I have regretted but I don’t want to discuss it here.”
However, he reiterated that he was not solely to blame (for the pullout) but that it was a collective decision, with the support of the majority of Sabahans as the election then had proved.
“There were a lot of factors involved as well,” he said, adding that it was now up to history to judge whether his action was good or bad or wrong or weak as some of his critics have said recently.
The septuagenarian politician who has also faced criticism within his own community for kowtowing to the Umno-led BN coalition which overthrew his administration in 1994, said he was not defending himself and his actions at the time.
“For me this is a past issue. What I have done, I did to the best of my abilities with regard to the situation then. What I had done during my time as chief minister or as state Cabinet minister was for the good of the people, the state and future of Sabah.
“As we know from history, in 1985, we were only ruling for 11 months before there were interruptions and problems arose with civil disturbances and people dying from bombs.
“All this had to be taken into account. So whatever I have done was for the good, well-being and security (of the people) and to improve the administration and economy of the state.
“The most important was security. If we were unable to control the situation then, there was sure to be chaos. I knew and so did many others that they were prepared to fight.”
Pairin also accused his detractors of practising “Machiavellian-style of politics” by seeking ways to criticise him and his party.
His most recent woes began after a local daily published an extract of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s memoirs “A Doctor in the House” which quoted him as saying that Pairin
lost the opportunity to develop Sabah the moment he pulled PBS out of the coalition on the eve of the 1990 general election.
The move led Mahathir to bring Umno into Sabah politics which up to then had been left untouched by peninsula-based parties.
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