Sabah is autonomous state – Pairin

TAMBUNAN: Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, the Barisan Nasional (BN) incumbent for Keningau and Tambunan, urged the people of Sabah and Sarawak not to allow themselves to be influenced by the opposition’s “Borneo Agenda versus Malaya Agenda” ploy into thinking Sabah has no autonomy and not in charge of its own future.

He said the opposition are getting more desperate in their attempt to gain political power and have resorted to pitting the Borneo states against Peninsular Malaysia, hoping to take advantage of the strong sentiment they are trying to create from it.

The caretaker Deputy Chief Minister said Sabah has its own privileges as a member of the Federation of Malaysia, with the power to govern the state lying in the hands of its own people.

Contrary to what the opposition have been claiming, he said Sabah is an autonomous state and decides its future.

Every decision affecting the state and its people are done freely by the State Cabinet, whose members are the representatives elected by the people, Pairin said.

“As such, the people must not let themselves be played by the opposition the Borneo Agenda and Malaya Agenda.

“We have autonomy, we have our own cabinet led by our chief minister, we have our own ministers, assistant ministers. Sarawak too has the same privilege, only our two states have this,” he said.

“One thing for sure, we in Sabah had made a decision in the past. We have been committed in administrating our own state. We make our own decisions through our own Cabinet and the future of our people is in our own hands,” he said when officiating at the closing of Karaoke Competition and Prize Presentation in conjunction with the Tambunan Tataba Unity Wave Sports Carnival at Pisompuruan Square here.

Pairin admitted there were still a lot that had to be done by the government in meeting the needs and expectations of the people in Sabah.

But the government realized this fact and understood clearly that bringing progress and satisfying the aspiration of the people was a continuous commitment, he said.

In this regard, he said the government had continuously set in place proactive and forward looking programmes to ensure a better future for Sabah, in addition to addressing the current needs and issues faced by its people.

“There are a lot more things that the people need us to do, many more need to be explored. This is a continuous process included in the government agenda.

“The Government Transformation Programme introduced by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is part of this agendas, and it has significantly benefited the people. Let us all give undivided support to this commitment of BN Government in ensuring a better future for the people,” he said, calling for the people to retain BN and allow it to continue with its development programmes for the state and country.

Sumber : Borneo Post