MAXIMUM TWO TERMS FOR CM AND PM POSTS!

By : UBF MEDIA

THE Chairman of Borneo Heritage Foundation’s United Borneo Front (UBF), Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, has called upon the Federal Government to put in place a national policy that all Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers vacate their positions and make way for new faces after a maximum two terms.

“We should emulate the examples of developed nations and not follow the footsteps of nations who have a history of long serving leaders with a reputation for tyranny and dictatorship. This nation should continually evolve with a proper succession of leaders so that new ideas for growth and development can be implemented and generations can enhance old policies with new ones.

“If the PM and CM roles are allowed to refresh after every two terms, entire generations will not be bypassed in the decision making process. This is the basis of good governance and is the first step towards the elimination of possessive greed and dominance and cronyism,” said Dr. Jeffrey in his press statement.

He added that the Chief Minister of Sabah should set a good example by vacating his position by the next election as he has served two terms and applauded the views of the UPKO leadership in making way for new leaders to rise within the ranks.

“With so many political party components in Sabah alone, UMNO should not assume that they have a right to monopolise the Chief Minister’s position. There is no rule in place that says that the next general election should automatically set an UMNO leader for the State Cabinet leadership.

“In fact, local based political parties should represent their State and be given priority over Federal based parties. The State Government has autonomy in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and as such should decide policies for the benefit of the State first and foremost. If the State Cabinet leaders are mere proxies of the Federal political parties, they would naturally prioritise Federal needs,” Dr. Jeffrey added.

Dr. Jeffrey suggested that if extra seats were allocated in Sabah for ADUNS and MPs, these should be divided equitably between local based parties.

“If we wish to increase Sabah and Sarawak’s voice to cover 35% of the parliament, that 35% should be MPs from local based parties and not Federal based parties. They are more likely to prioritise Borneo’s position in this country.”

Good governance, Dr. Jeffrey said, also means that elected candidates have the integrity to resign from their ministerial positions if they hopped parties after they have been elected by the people.

“If the people mandated you to win under one ticket, you should have the integrity to step down and go for a by-election if you then decide to rule as a leader under a different ticket. This is simply cheating the people of their voting choices.”

(Note : About the genesis of the United Borneo Front (UBF)

The UBF originally started as an unregistered civil rights concept as part of the Borneo Alliance of political parties, NGOS and individuals in Sabah and Sarawak who subscribe to the Borneo Agenda and the economic and political empowerment of Borneo as equal partners to West Malaysia in the Federation. Founded on the 16th December 2010, the date was chosen to reflect the date the Boston Tea Party was formed in America on the 16th December 1773 in retaliation against oppressive cabotage laws imposed by the British against the American colonies leading to the American revolution which resulted in America’s independence. UBF similarly pressures the Malaysian government to review laws, contracts, regulations and policies which negatively impacts the political and economic autonomies and development of the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak. The government is also pressured to adhere to Article 8 of the Malaysia Agreement and the terms of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report of 1962 to prioritise the politics of Borneonisation in Sabah and Sarawak so as to guarantee political and economic autonomies to the two Borneo States. On the 21st March 2011, the UBF became a committee in the Borneo Heritage Foundation (BHF), a registered non-governmental organisation based in Sabah and headed by political economist and UBF founder, Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan. He is assisted by UBF co-founder and lawyer, Nilakrisna James, members of the organising committee and head coordinators in every district of Sabah. The UBF is Sabah’s first ever civil rights movement in Malaysia and remains non-partisan.