Fredian Gan
KOTA KINABALU: Recent criticisms against Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), particularly over remarks made by PBS Information Chief Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, reflect a deeper discomfort among certain leaders from non-local based parties about the growing support for local governance in Sabah.
PBS Supreme Council Member Datuk Fredian Gan said it is interesting but certainly not surprising that the varied calls for local parties to lead in running the State Government continue to elicit negative reactions from some local leaders of non-local based parties.
He said the criticism directed at Joniston’s reiteration of PBS’ support for GRS’ position on State leadership was “driven less by conviction and principle, and more by a rationalisation of their place within their non-local parties.”
Describing the attacks on PBS’ position as disingenuous, Fredian emphasised that defending Sabah’s rights has always been the foundation of PBS as a political party.
“First, fighting for State rights is the raison d’être of PBS as a political party. The running of the affairs of our own house should never be dictated by outsiders; PBS’s stand on the matter has never wavered,” he said in a statement today.
Fredian also cautioned against mischaracterising the push for local leadership as anti-Federal.
“Second, and more broadly, the calls for local parties to lead in managing the affairs of Sabah should never ever be equated with being anti-Federal. Nothing is further from the truth,” said Fredian.
He reminded critics that the notion of State autonomy is embedded in the very foundations of Malaysia’s formation, through the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“The calls for local parties to lead harken back to MA63 and the formation of Malaysia itself. It is the fundamental reason as to why the then leaders of Sarawak and Sabah insisted on MA63 as preconditions to the formation of our nation,” he said.
According to Fredian, this insistence by Sabah’s forefathers rested on the principle of being “separate but equal” within the Federation.
“Like Sarawakians, Sabahans are just as proud to be Malaysians as any other Malaysian citizens. The calls for local parties to lead is an honest and unequivocal call for Sabahans to be the lead determinants in the affairs and future of our beloved state; no more, no less,” he said.
Fredian also rejected any framing of the matter as exclusionary, stating that it is, in fact, a call for genuine partnership and inclusion.
“It is really a stand for inclusion, rather than exclusion. After all, that is what a true partnership is all about – letting each on the table make their views freely known, without being dictated by others, directly or indirectly,” he said.
