Pairin hits back at Harris' claim
Published on: Saturday, March 14, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan came out with his guns blazing at suggestions that he has been misleading the people over the question of Sabah's rights."My record, both in the past and the present, is out there for all to see… it is for the people to judge me," he said, Friday, the first time in memory that he decided to take on the person he dethroned as CM in 1985.Not mincing his words in replying to Tan Sri Harris Salleh who had said he and others should shut up if they cannot show evidence on Sabah's rights being taken away by Kuala Lumpur, he accused Harris' Berjaya Government for the erosion of some of these rights.ADVERTISEMENT He took a swipe at Harris, who was Chief Minister during the Berjaya era, saying had it not been for him (Pairin) and some others, even the special powers vested on Sabah in terms of immigration rights would have been given away at the time."I will not waste time to defend myself. I remember the Berjaya government even wanted to give Sabah's special powers in terms of immigration rights to the Federal."We stopped it, saying to allow at least three years to think it over and luckily PBS won the election and that move was blocked. So if that is not viewed as a fight for Sabahans, then I do not know what else we can say. "I have gone through a lot of challenges and we have genuinely fought for the rights of the people. "In 1983 when I was expelled from Berjaya (during its congress), it was because I had been raising issues deemed sensitive such as the illegal immigrant issue and freedom of religion," he said.ADVERTISEMENT Regarding Harris' challenge that he should be specific on what rights had been taken away from Sabah, Pairin said the rights issue is not new and one only needs to do research to find out that such issue is real.Pairin said numerous leaders from various political parties, current and past, have given their own versions on how the Federal Government infringed the rights of Sabah.
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However, he stressed that it is pointless to cry over spilt milk and urged the people to look forward to the future, especially how the State Government and the Federal Government can work together to ensure the delivery system in the country is more efficient."Rather than fighting with each other, it is better that we work together because the people have spoken who they want to be their leaders. "Whatever it is, for me, as long as I still have a role to play, to defend the people, I will do my best because that had been our purpose since the beginning. Even though we are not as smart as some people, at least whatever we have contributed, it was for the sake of the people," he said.On Monday, Harris said Pairin should have protested against any rights under threat of being taken away and inform Sabahans about them right from the beginning. He also questioned what Pairin had done all this time to stop the erosion of State's rights.He said unless Pairin can provide evidence that Sabah's rights have been taken away, he and the other leaders who have been saying the same thing, should retract their statements and just keep quiet.In a related development, Pairin said the State Government is trying to obtain partial autonomy, in a sense that the State government will be given more authority on a wider scale instead of referring everything to Kuala Lumpur.For example, he said, the Cabinet had been asked to request from the Federal Government to allow Public Works Department (PWD) to help the Road Transport Department (RTD) stop overloaded vehicles from using the roads."There is nothing wrong with that request. This can also be looked at as autonomy, the sharing of responsibility. Why should we refer to Kuala Lumpur over small matters? That is not efficient."We have to be practical in our approach. Do not be too tight. We are now in the 21st century and we are constantly being scrutinised by the people," he said.Pairin, however, said Sabahans are grateful especially because the security in the State's borders had increased, especially after the Tanduo incident two years ago.He said the incident finally opened the eyes of many people and led to the realisation of how bad the situation in Sabah is when it comes to the illegal immigrant problem."If we had done our work in terms of preventing this thing from escalating, we would have been able to control this but we failed and we need to address that.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"Therefore, now we have to face this present situation. We should be wiser now in looking at what is the best for the country, for Sabah. If you can resolve this, then it is going to be good for Sabah as well as Malaysia."We talk so much, we talk about development. Yes, let's do it together," he said.