INTERPRETATION ON PM AND CM

THE DAP N16 Luyang candidate Hiew King Cheu, who is also the DAP Sabah State Advisor Hiew King Cheu said that it is necessary to clarify on SAPP Yong Teck Lee’s statement because what he said on the position of the Prime Minister and Chief Minister are misleading.

The Federal and State Constitutions are very clear on the appointments of the Malaysian Prime Minister and Sabah Chief Minister as follows:

Constitution of Malaysia (Federal)

Article Number 43 (2) (a)

"The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister) to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representative who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House."

and

Constitution of the state of Sabah

Chapter 2 (6) (3)

"The Yang di-Pertua Negeri shall appoint as Chief Minister a member of the Legislative assembly who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of a majority of the members of the Assembly."

Chapter 2 (6) (7)

"For the purpose of clause (3) of this Article, where a political party has won a majority of the elected seats of the Legislative Assembly in a general election, the leader of such political party, who is a member of the Legislative Assembly shall be the member of the Legislative Assembly who is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly."

In rebuttal to the statement by Yong Teck Lee (SAPP), it is important to read properly the article 6 (7) of the Sabah State Constitution in its totality whereby only on the grounds that the political party has won the majority of the elected seats in the assembly can the leader of such a political party be “likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Assembly”.

Therefore, it is very clear that Yong is trying to mislead the people of Sabah by partially quoting the particular sub-clause.

Hiew advices the people not to be misled and confused by what Yong had said in his statement. His explanation does not mean anything because, as per Article 43 (2) (a) of the Malaysian Constitution and Chapter 2 sub-clause 6 (3) and 6 (7) of the Sabah State Constitution, any person or leader of any political party, for that matter.

Who has the majority of the members of the House (Parliament) or State Assembly supporting him, shall be the Prime Minister (Parliament) of Malaysia or in the case of the Sabah State Assembly, the Chief Minister.

The clauses stated in the state and federal constitution is very clear, and as a learned person, Yong should be able to see clearly what is written there. He also said if SAPP were to win a majority of seats in the election, then the Constitution states that the Chief Minister shall be SAPP if he wins his own seat. What if SAPP does not win enough seat to meet the majority, will Yong consider requesting help from UMNO?  

ABDUL RAHMAN 'ANAK JATI' KOTA BELUD?

 

Oleh : ISMAIL MOHD ROSLI

PINJAMAN Hussin (tengah) bukanlah sebuah nama yang asing dalam politik Sabah, khasnya Kota Belud. Insan ini adalah pelopor kebangkitan semangat politik orang Iranun pada tahun-tahun 70-an, pernah bertanding atas tiket PEKEMAS, parti yang diasaskan oleh Dr Tan Chee Kon.

Telah lama isu ‘pemain import’ berlegar dalam udara politik daerah ini, rasanya sejak PRU-12 berikutan terpilihnya Dato’ Abd Rahman Dahlan untuk bercalon sebagai Ahli Parlimen P169 Kota Belud, menggantikan Datuk Seri Salleh Said.

Tidak dinafikan, memang timbul persoalan kenapa agaknya Rahman terpilih sebagai wakil rakyat bagi kerusi parlimen ini, sedangkan ramai anak tempatan Kota Belud yang berkelayakan untuk bertanding di kerusi itu.

Namun gelaran tersebut lambat laun hilang, apabila Rahman membuktikan karismanya sebagai Ahli Parlimen di Dewan Rakyat. Rahman membidas hujah pihak pembangkang dengan hujah yang bernas dan fakta yang tepat.

Apabila masa berlalu, PRU-13 menyusul, isu tersebut diputar lagi dan kini Rahman bukan lagi digelar sebagai ‘pemain import’, tetapi bertukar nama kepada ‘ayam import’!

Dari mulutnya terungkap rahsia betapa Rahman yang dilabel sebagai ‘ayam import’ itu, ibubapanya memang berasal dari Kota Belud, kerana Hj Dahlan bersepupu dengan ibunda Pinjaman, Hjh Hafsah Datu Abpa.

Justeru menurut Pinjaman, generasi muda harus mempunyai kesanggupan untuk menelusuri susur galur kekeluargaan yang kian pupus oleh perasaan perkauman. Katanya suku Bajau dan Iranun mempunyai pertalian darah yang nyata, demikian juga dengan suku Dusun yang ada di daerah ini. Tradisi ‘migkeret’ iaitu ‘mencicip darah antara suku Dusun dan Iranun atau Bajau’ telah merapatkan hubungan mereka sejak berzaman.

Pada malam ceramah politik 'Janji Ditepati' yang menghimpunkan hampir 500 orang di halaman rumah beliau di Rampayan Laut itu, Pinjaman mengingatkan agar generasi muda mengusir sikap mementingkan diri dan belajar menghormati orang lain.

Selain ahli politik atau penggalur salasilah keluarga yang hebat, Pinjaman juga adalah pengingat puisi kalang yang baik. Malam tersebut Pinjaman membacakan puisi ini: Mekali abal kapal, pedungku’ suang kendis ; nia’ tedaya akal, pekam peliak nangis.

Puisi ini sangat baik untuk dibuat renungan, khususnya dalam percaturan politik sekarang. Puisi itu kira bermakna- terdengar khabar kapal, berlabuh di Sungai Kendis; tak tercapai dek akal, meniarap dan telentang menangis.

I WILL FIX ARMY TRAINING AREA

KOTA BELUD: An independent candidate for the Kota Belud parliamentary seat, Kanul Gindol, has pledged to do 'whatever he could' to get at least best parts of the huge army training camp here be excised and given back to affected villagers, if he was to be elected an MP at the poll this weekend.

Kanul, who uses 'key' as his symbol at this May 5 general election, said he was confident that as an MP he would be in most effective position to get the next Federal Government and State Government convinced to listen and bow to the aspiration of the affected Dusun Tindals in the army training camp.

"After all it is the people we are working for and protecting. Priority must be given to these natives whose legitimate rights to land of their ancestors had been denied by this 10,000 acres army training camp," he said to a group of voters while on a whirlwind election campaign to Kampung Losou Podi yesterday.

Kanul, who is also the immediate past secretary-general of United Sabah Tindal Organisation (USTO) said both USTO and KDCA had voiced concern after concern about the safety of the Tindal community living in the vicinity of the area more popularly known as Kem Paradise.

"Even USTO's president James Bagah had last year, well before the Tanduo stand-off in Lahad Datu, called on the government to close down altogether the army training area and shift it to a more strategic areas, perhaps in the east-coast of Sabah," Kanul said.

Kanul further said that it is not an empty promises on his part just because he was seeking an elected office.

"I shall seek the experts' opinion of sociologists and psychologists on the effects this training camp has had on these villagers. I will fund researches to look for alternative solutions to the problems of a growing need for land for the expanding families in the area," he said.

According to Kanul, there had been scores of fatalities among the Tindals in the area since 1980s, involving natives collecting unused bomb left in the area mistakenly good for scrap metals for sale.

"This army training area in Kota Belud probably is the only military base in the world that shares its turf with densely populated villages, with roads spanning over the training also used daily by the villagers including those from Losou Podi and Losou Minunsud and other kampungs.

Kanul, a journalist-activist, who is embroiled in a five-corner tussle for Kota Belud parliamentary seat also asked the governments as to what happened to a purported study on parts of the area to be excised and given back to the villagers.

"If i am not mistaken, Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi was supposed to visit the training camp and meet affected native leaders last year but it was aborted for unknown reason and that the minister had not bothered to meet the headmen till now.

"If the governments are sincere to listen and help, and if the "Rakyat Didahulukan" then the minister should have come and must have come. Solutions must not be delayed. We seek it while it is seekable," said the aspiring parliamentarian who is known for his sharp-witted comments.

Several Dusun villages are practically trapped within the Kem Paradise with school going children, the aged and simple-minded old folks traversing daily across the camp’s vast grounds.

Other kampungs trapped in or 'overlapping' the army areas are Tengkurus, Bangkahak, Tambulion, Gonok, Rosok and Sorob, Kanul added.

TOUGH FIGHT FOR SABAH BN SEEN IN 10 SEATS

KOTA KINABALU: After seven days of campaigning in the 13th general election, polling for which is on May 5, the Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman is now in the driving seat for the political battle in the State.

The Sabah BN, which is facing a seemingly disunited Opposition, looks set to retain power in the state, thus enabling it to live up to the tag of being "the fixed deposit" of the BN.

Despite the opposition pact's onslaught for the parliamentary battle, Sabah BN is likely to win most of the seats won in the 2008 general election. However, the BN expects tough fights for the Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau, Beaufort, Tuaran, Penampang, Sepanggar, Pensiangan, Kota Belud and Kota Marudu parliamentary seats.

This is the analysis of some political observers in Sabah, based on the local political scenario, whereby it is probably the most crowded in the State's electoral history.

In the 2008 general election, Sabah BN won 59 of the 60 state seats and 24 of the 25 parliamentary seats, losing the Sri Tanjung state seat and the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat to the Opposition.

In what is seen as a morale booster for the Sabah BN, with seven more days to polling, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak praised the "leadership of Musa" on his recent visit to Sabah.

"I am impressed by his report card. The people of Sabah should read it because it is a success for the State government and we support it fully," Najib was quoted as saying.

Political observers believe that once the dust settles after the 13th general election, voters in Sabah will wake up to herald a continuous chapter in the BN's leadership supremacy.

They say the determining factor for BN's ability to continue ruling the state lies in the fact that the coalition is more united in facing the election, while the opposition is pitted not just against the BN but also against one another.

Despite pre-election calls for the opposition parties to reach an understanding so as to ensure straight fights with the BN, only the Tanjung Batu State seat and the Sandakan parliamentary seat are seeing one-to-one contests.

"The decision by Star (State Reform Party), SAPP (Sabah Progressive Party) and PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) to field almost equal number of candidates for the state seats is a clear example of serious friction among them.

"Given the bickering among them, it is hard to imagine any one of them winning enough seats to become the leader of the pack," said an independent media practitioner.

He said internal squabbles among the opposition parties, especially in Sabah, has put a dent in their plan to find an amicable solution to seat allocation.

On top of that, PKR's 'insincere' gesture of offering SAPP a limited number of state seats has resulted in the latter completely abandoning the hope of wanting to work with the peninsula-based party.

"It was actually an excuse by PKR over its preference for PPPS (Pertubuhan Pakatan Perubahan Sabah) led by Datuk Lajim Ukin and Datuk Wilfred Bumburing's APS (Angkatan Perubahan Sabah), which are only non-governmental organisations," he said.

The BN has fielded candidates in all the parliamentary seats, and its opponents are from the STAR (in 21 seats), PKR (19), Independents (15), SAPP (8), DAP (four) PAS (two) and Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita) (1).

As for the state seats, STAR and its ally independents have 49 candidates, PKR 43, SAPP 41, PAS nine, DAP seven, Malaysia United People's Party (MUPP) three and Kita one.

The Sabah BN manifesto, unveiled by Musa last Saturday, has boosted the people's confidence in the state and federal BN leadership.

The manifesto, which complements the federal BN's 'Promise of Hope', spells out 16 commitments aimed at spurring the socio-economic development in the state, including uplifting the living standards of local communities as well as bridging the gap between urban and rural development.

"Sabahans are especially excited by the federal government's plan to build a 2,300km Pan Borneo Highway stretching from Sematan, Sarawak, to Serudung, Sabah.

"This alone will open up a large tract of land for commercial development while, at the same time, close the gap between the urban and rural population," said Azman Ruslan, a lawyer. (DE)