By : CLARA CHOOI
KOTA MARUDU : Pakatan Rakyat (PR) welcomed today another
senior Barisan Nasional (BN) leader into the Sabah opposition front - Senator
Datuk Maijol Mahap - in yet another sign of a brewing revolt against the ruling
pact in its east Malaysian fortress.
Mahap, a vice-president in
BN's Sabah-based United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO),
formally confirmed his decision to leave the ruling pact at a function held at
his house in Kampung Kokobuan, Kota Marudu, some 100km from Kota Kinabalu this
afternoon.
The function was attended by
top national and state opposition leaders, including PR de facto leader Datuk
Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution, PKR
vice-president Chua Tian Chang, DAP's Kota Kinabalu MP Hiew King Cheu, Sabah
DAP chairman Jimmy Wong and Amanah deputy Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Syeikh Fadzir.
The Kota Marudu
parliamentary constituency is currently held by federal minister Datuk Seri Dr
Maximus Johnity Ongkili, who is also the deputy president of Parti Bersatu
Sabah (PBS), UPKO's ally in Sabah BN.
In his speech to announce
his crossover decision, Mahap pre-empted an imminent shift in Sabah and
Malaysia's political landscape, pointing to the results of Election 2008 when
BN lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority.
"To me, all this
happened and has continued to occur because of one factor and that factor is
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"He has created a new
spirit for change in Malaysia and these changes will lead to a new political
system for the country - a two-party system and I support this," he said.
Mahap's expected defection
today comes in the wake of similar crossovers last month by two other senior BN
lawmakers - Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing, formerly UPKO's
deputy president, and Beaufort MP Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin, formerly a Umno
supreme council member.
Both men, who were present
at Mahap's house today, had left BN citing their dissatisfaction over the
government's delay in setting up the long-awaited Royal of Commission of
Inquiry (RCI) on Sabah's illegal immigrants problem.
Just days after the duo's
departures, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told a press conference after
meeting with Umno leaders in Kuala Lumpur that he would announce the RCI's
terms of reference on August 11, ending the six-month wait following Cabinet's
decision on February 8 to form the panel.
The Prime Minister revealed
an eight-point terms of reference in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, after meeting
with state BN leaders.
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