Suluks to Akjan: Stop playing politics
Published on: Thursday, January 10, 2019
KOTA KINABALU: The Suluk community appears divided over calls for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) to come to Sabah with one association saying the State is already in good hands of existing political parties in the new State Government.
Persatuan Peranakan Suluk Sabah (PPSS) even slammed Pertubuhan Kebajikan Dakwah Islamiah Negeri Sabah (Perkida Sabah), a Muslim NGO led by Datu Dr Muhammad Akjan Datu Ali Muhammad who once claimed to be the Sulu Sultan, for leading the calls for the peninsula-based party to spread its wings to the state.
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PPSS spokesman Datu Lakson Datu Majindi said it does not want anything to do with Akjan, adding that the latter’s statement on 19,000 of his members wanting to join PPBM was politically charged.
“We’re distancing ourselves from Akjan and his political statement.
“PPSS is an NGO that fights for the rights and interest of the Suluk community who have resided in Sabah for generations,” he said in a statement.
He urged Akjan, whose NGO supposedly comprises members from the Suluk community, to stop playing politics but focus on his as well as Perkida’s role as an NGO.
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“Don’t involve the Suluk race in Perkida’s politics,” he warned, adding that a large majority of the Muslim NGO’s members are Tausug.
Lakson said PPSS is more than able to protect the interest of the Suluk people in Sabah.
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Ajkan had called on the PPBM leadership to heed the calls of the Muslim community in Sabah and expand its wings to the state.
He claimed there was a high demand from the people in Sabah for PPBM and was confident that many Muslims in the State would join as they believed the party suits best their aspirations, interest, welfare and needs and would address their problems and plight.
He was quoted as saying that some of the 19,000 new members who have registered as life members of PPBM were professionals, businessmen and civil servants.
Two other Sabah Suluk organisations recently pledged their full support on the call by Perkida for PPBM to set foot in Sabah.
They were the Pertubuhan Permuafakatan & Perpaduan Masyarakat Peranakan Suluk Bajau Sabah (PPSBS) and Dewan Perniagaan Suluk Sabah (DPSS), both of which said they believe that PPBM is the best party to represent them as “pribumi” (natives).
They also saw no reason why PPBM cannot set foot in the state because other peninsula-based political parties like Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) have already established in Sabah, including more recently, Amanah.
Lakson said Sabah based parties like Parti Warisan and Upko are capable enough to fight for the rights and interest of all races in Sabah.
“There’s no need to depend on other parties,” he said.
Apart from PPSS, another Muslim NGO calling itself the Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Pekida) Sabah has denied claims it was supporting calls for PPBM to come to Sabah.
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