U-turns making Warisan no better than BN: Bersih
Published on: Friday, June 05, 2020
.jpg "U-turns making Warisan no better than BN: Bersih")
Picture by Saw Siow Feng
Kota Kinabalu: Electoral watchdog Bersih Sabah 2.0 has criticised the Warisan-led state government for breaking its promise of not appointing elected reps to head government-linked companies (GLCs).Bersih said they and other Sabahans viewed this move as repeating the “kebobrokan” (rottenness) practised by the previous Barisan Nasional administration.
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They said this practice is being continued now by the present Perikatan Nasional government that treats GLCs as a tool for its political interests.
“Bersih Sabah demands that the state government, under Chief Minister Shafie Apdal, not set a bad precedence of appointing MPs or assemblymen to GLCs.
“Hold on to your promise and manifesto to uplift the people of Sabah,” they said in a statement.
Shafie, who is Warisan president, announced the appointments of Penampang MP Darell Leiking as Chairman of Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation Sdn Bhd and Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman as head of state investment arm, Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd.
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Shafie defended the move, saying it was for the good of the people as the MPs had the experience and capability to lead the GLCs and bring the state forward.
Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin had earlier vilified Shafie for going back on their word.
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Bersih said the appointments were in direct breach of what Shafie had said himself on May 13, which was that elected reps will not be elected to head statutory bodies or GLCs as they would need to focus on serving the people.
They said Sabahans wanted a better and more transparent political practice by the Warisan-PKR-DAP-Upko coalition compared to the previous government.
“This practice does not involve making GLCs tools or to serve as political rewards.
“Such appointments among politicians will only encourage patronage politics that gives room for them to selectively channel government resources to strengthen their political influence.”
Bersih added that GLCs are supposed to benefit the people but will be used to enrich certain quarters, especially government supporters, through such a practice.
“Their votes in the 14th general election, intended to bring about change, will have gone to waste.”
Bung, who is Kinabatangan MP, said unlike Warisan-PH, Barisan Nasional had not made any such pledge during its election campaign.
“Neither did Perikatan Nasional,” he said, adding that this allowed them to appoint their elected representatives as leaders of GLCs or statutory bodies.
He also said the appointments of Leiking and Azis were only the latest in the list of incompetencies by the current administration.
“They have not fulfilled their election manifesto, and now they have broken their promise,” he said, claiming that Warisan had been forced to appoint elected representatives to such positions in order to boost support for the party and state coalition.
“This is like spitting in the wind,” he added.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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