KOTA KINABALU: The United Pasokmomogun KadazanDusun Murut Organization (Upko) is confident that Barisan Nasional will continue to rule Sabah, after this coming 13th general election.
“I do not see any possibility of change in the state of Sabah. We are not going to be over confident but that is the mood at the moment actually,” party president Bernard Dompok(Pic) told reporters after launching the ‘National Blue Ocean Strategy-My Beautiful Neighbourhood’ programme at the Taman Keramat ERHP flats near here yesterday.
Asked to comment on the mood of the people with the 13th general election just three weeks away, the Penampang MP said there was always bound to be anxiety in any election and how the results would affect the people.
“I have taken part in so many elections and it has always been the case where the people will be wondering how much majority this person will get? Are they going to get a wakil rakyat?
“These are normal things that the people face before the election. I feel sure that within the next two weeks, they’ll firm up on what they want and certainly I think they will be very much more confident on what this present government has to offer,” he said.
Asked whether he is going to defend the Penampang parliamentary seat, Dompok said: “We take one thing at a time. That will be announced at a later date.”
Dompok also said he is both happy and proud of what he has contributed through his participation in the government.
“This is because I become part and parcel of this changing environment and it’s a very opportune moment for you to put up your ideas and how changes can be brought up.
“I quite enjoy looking at how myself and people like me can participate and change things in the country,” he said, citing the gazetting of Sept 16 as Malaysia day as a national holiday as an example one of his achievements.
The day Sabah agreed to join the Federated States of Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak in forming Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963 was prior to this only celebrated in Sabah as the official birthday of the Head of State.
“Now we say Malaysia Day is special so let’s do it for the country so it can became a national holiday. Everybody will get a sense of belonging, because Malaysia was formed on Sept 16, 1963 and that is being accepted.
“So this is what I mean by changing … people are changing their way of thinking. It certainly is a proud moment for us to see this type of changes,” he said.
More seats wanted
But Dompok shied away from questions about the performance of the state government over the last five years.
“Obviously they have administered the state quite well. If you look at the improvement in government finances and all this, certainly, I think all the states under the BN have performed well because we hear their reports during the Menteri Besar and Chief Ministers conferences and they all are working very hard,” he said.
The ruling coalition, he said, had changed to accommodate the prevailing conditions in the country as Malaysians became more aware of national politics.
“Obviously I think this has been prompted by the results of the 2008 elections … after that people seem to take a lot more interest in politics.
“The present prime minister is leading the charge and that is how the Blue Ocean strategy comes up. We change to accommodate ourselves with the prevailing conditions such as economic, political and social conditions,” he stressed.
On the allocation of 60 state assembly seats among the BN coalition members with Umno taking 32 and leaving 28 to be shared among six other parties – Upko, PBS, PBRS, LDP, Gerakan and MCA – Dompok reiterated that his party wants the Sepanggar parliamentary seat that is also eyed by Umno.
“We have asked for it and there has been no decision yet on the matter. There are not many seats to ask for if you are talking about the seats that were vacated by another component party which has left BN sometime ago. There are only four seats so we have asked for one of them,” he said.
Sepanggar is one of the seats the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) won in the 2008 general election as a member if the BN coalition. It also won the Tawau parliamentary seat as well as the Likas and Luyang state seats. SAPP left the ruling coalition shortly after the last election.
