YOURSAY | Tacit approval from PBS, Star for appointed PAS rep

YOURSAY | ‘Once again, the KDM community’s worst enemies are its leaders.’

PAS thanks PBS, Star for giving Sabah appointed rep a chance

Vijay47: It is strange that PAS’ beacon and party secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan chose to thank PBS and Star when other parties in their coalition have more seats individually – Umno has 14 and Bersatu 13.

One possibility is that PAS, having achieved its infiltration objective, is gleefully rubbing the face of the two native parties deep into the Sabah mud, knowing full well that PBS and Star just do not have the pluck to do anything about what is in store for them, a certainty they would have been very aware of considering PAS ‘contributions’ in the Peninsular.

The other possibility is that PAS is indeed grateful as both these parties could have objected to the appointment of Sabah PAS secretary Aliakbar Gulasan, in which case his position in the Sabah state assembly would not have gone through. Yet the Kitingan brothers did not. They continued to play their subservient role in Sabah, a status they seem extremely comfortable with.

In the stand they have adopted, we see the true workings of the traitorous parties; PBS president Maximus Ongkili opposes the presence of a “Malaya-based religious party in the Assembly”. But having said that, he accepts the position as it is now a done deal and will act as a check and balance.

What kind of leadership integrity is that? Next, we will hear of them welcoming into their household a snake with the Covid virus, but no worry, bro, we will be a check and balance.

Star president Jeffrey Kitingan is all smiles – hey, the agent from PAS is a swell guy!

Business First: In a previous comment, I had predicted this would happen. Star and PBS would make a song and dance before the appointment of a PAS representative. After they are ignored, as expected, they sing a different tune about how they look forward to working with PAS and dispel the "fear" of PAS.

Can the new PAS representative condemn the "distorted" Bible comment by one of his party colleagues?

Why are Semenanjung parties dictating this decision? After all, Sabah is supposed to have autonomy. Yet Perikatan Nasional (PN) is entirely controlled from Putrajaya.

Once again, the Kadazan-Dusun-Murut (KDM) community’s worst enemies are their own leaders who sell them out all the time. Yet these leaders continually get voted in.

Well, you get the leaders and the government you choose. Sadly after 60 years, many have not learnt that they benefit from the few hundred ringgit spent on them during the campaign only to be robbed of the hundreds of thousands due to them over the next five years.

JusticeNow: Whatever they say or reasons they give does not carry weight. They don't even dare to object, merely calling it "unfortunate" and even "looking forward to working with PAS".

The fact that Takiyuddin singled out PBS and Star to thank betrays the truth of the matter; that these two parties have given tacit approval for the appointment despite their earlier public statements.

Even their prepared responses betrayed their approval, which focused on Aliakbar instead of PAS, a divisive party that patronises and abuses Islam to further its objectives.

It is a well-known fact that PAS could never win a seat in Sabah or Sarawak despite trying it for decades. Hopefully, those who voted for them will be able to see the self-serving and subservient character of these two parties.

This may even be the death knell to the once-mighty PBS, reduced to an insignificant and paltry party that won some seats through lies and local personalities.

Kim Quek: The words of disapproval from Star and PBS to the appointment of a PAS leader to the state assembly are clearly meant to mitigate the severe backlash from their electoral bedrock, the KDM community, who were pivotal in pushing Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to power in the recent Sabah state polls.

These Kadazan leaders, more than anybody else, know that the exclusivist Islamist PAS (now compounded by its racism) under the leadership of its president, Abdul Hadi Awang, is strongly detested by their community.

But on the other hand, opportunists like frog prince Kitingan wouldn’t risk anything in the world to lose their current hard-fought cabinet positions. So, what choice do they have other than putting up a perfunctory opposition to the decision of the chief minister who is from Bersatu?

As for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Bersatu party, they are only too pleased to do PAS a favour as the latter is now their strategic partner to ward off the increasingly disgruntled Umno in the grand zero-sum game of the Bersatu-PAS-Umno triangle, now housed dubiously under the same roof of Muafakat Nasional.

Interesting things lie ahead in the current Malaysian politics, which are clearly in flux.

CH Y: It would not be an issue if PAS politics is based on good governance and universal morality and humaneness.

Instead, they expect their supporters to take the cue from the leaders on most major issues in the name that to do so is to obey “God's will” (or is that their will?). To not follow or question their leaders is invariably a no-no as questioning their faith.

Can they mix good leadership with sound mature governance in respecting diversity and the rights of minorities and that people have different cultures and social norms on food/dressing/celebrations/sporting activities/night socialisation and how we interact or communicate or express affection in an Asian society?

Or is their end game to get enough adherents that will take the leadership’s cue to vote for whomever the leaders nominate without looking at leadership and governance issues in a mixed society?

Aliakbar is only one man. Look at the whole leadership mentality of the party behind him and how they interact in Malaysia and perhaps in Sabah in due course. If there are a million Aliakbars in PAS, of course, that would be a different story.

Sadly, there is only one him, and you cannot whitewash the dangers of what may happen in a polarised society.

I Am Sabahan: It's not about giving PAS a chance in multicultural Sabah; it's about the past behaviour of the party in Peninsular Malaysia and how it plays up race and religion matters to enhance its political domination.

Why should we give you a chance? I didn't vote for the present regime. I accept that the coalition I voted for didn't get enough seats to form the government.

But we will monitor them closely, and if they don't perform well and adopt policies that go against our people, we will get more support from our other Sabahan brothers and sisters in the next general election.

Anonymouss: Sabahans need to remember who are those politicians who brought PAS into the state administration and reject them in the next election. These are the politicians who are responsible for risking the state’s racial harmony just for their own self-interest.

Sabahans have made very clear that they reject leaders from PAS but the current state government, by appointing a PAS leader, signals that they are prepared to ignore the voice of the people who want racial and religious harmony.

Oriole: Ongkili and Kitingan, barking dogs seldom bite. Your pathetic protestations are meaningless in the onslaught from the Peninsular and unwelcome parties muscling in to take over your impoverished state.

This sort of weakness will have severe repercussions for generations of Sabahans. Your legacy will be one of weak appeasement. Who benefits?

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