Like headless chickens: Upko
Published on: Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Leaders of the three political parties that form the United Sabah Alliance (USA) appear unable to make up their minds over what they really want or fight for.Upko Youth Chief Arthur Sen (pic) said he is just mystified how the coalition could claim its struggle is for the rights of Sabah when it could not even decide whether to base their struggle on the 20 Points or the Malaysia Agreement 1963."The way I look at it, they are now running around like headless chickens, not knowing exactly what they are saying. One day they said 20 Points and another day, when the mood strikes them, it's Malaysia Agreement 1963," he said.ADVERTISEMENT Compared to Barisan Nasional (BN), he said, the opposition is actually lagging behind when it comes to Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the fight for the people.At least, he said, the ruling coalition has already set up a formal committee on the State level led by Special Tasks Minister Datuk Teo Chee Kang and on the Federal level led by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman to review the rights that fall under the agreement.He also questioned the sincerity of the local-based opposition parties after none of them was willing to attend the Sabah Rights Review Committee (SRCC) when invited to present their views in a meeting recently."They want something surely, but they do not know which one. The contradiction of ideas among USA members is quite hilarious. At the same time, they don't want to participate in the joint committee. Why?" he said.ADVERTISEMENT Arthur said the way he understood it, Malaysia Agreement 1963 is an official agreement between the four regions signed in 1963 to form a federation called Malaysia.The agreement, which was approved by the British Parliament, is also accepted by the United Nations as a legal international agreement.
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In the meantime, he said, the 20 Points is just a list of demands made by then unelected Sabah leaders led by the late Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun and Tun Fuad Stephen and attached as one of many memorandum to the Inter-Governmental Committee."It never received any recognition from other governments. For USA to continue their struggle based on 20 Points, it shows that they are unclear about this issue. Their objective is also in doubt.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"I don't think the people should gamble their future with a coalition that does not know what they are fighting for. It just shows their insincerity," he said.