Jeffrey: Need for leaders to graduate as statesmen

“Politicians and leaders of government must first free themselves and their minds from the evil of the politics of race and religion."

KOTA KINABALU: The New Year 2015 should be regarded as an opportunity for leaders to become statesmen and help transform Malaysian and Sabah politics and usher it into a new political era.

“Leaders should rise above individual and party political interests when tackling problems in the common interest of Sabah,” said Bingkor Assemblyman Jeffrey Kitingan in expressing his wishes for the New Year.

“Problems faced by Sabah such as security and the so-called Project IC can never be resolved if partisan politics continue to predominate.”

Leaders cannot become statesmen if they are self-serving, added Jeffrey who is also Star Sabah Chief.

Unfortunately, the majority of politicians are lesser mortals whose primary goal is to get elected and then get into positions in government to enjoy the perks of office as Ministers, collect contracts and government allocations, he moaned.

“Politicians and leaders of government must first free themselves and their minds from the evil of the politics of race and religion. Universal justice should be practised and everyone should be treated as a member of the human race.”

Racists, racial extremism and religious bigotry should have no place in peaceful and harmonious multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia, said Jeffrey, “more so in Sabah and Sarawak which are all about 1-Malaysia”.

He noted that politicians are gagged or penalized by their political parties for giving personal opinions or ideas especially when their comments differ from the official stand.

“This practice has stifled democratic initiatives and prevented the development of political leaders into statesmen. In turn, it has stifled proper progress and development of Sabah and the nation,” he lamented.

This stifling can be seen from the overall status of Sabah where poverty and lack of proper basic amenities and lack of proper roads are the order of the day, he stressed, compared to neighbouring oil-producing Brunei and the tiny Republic of Singapore which has no oil but has oil refineries.

He urged Putrajaya, in his message, to stop treating Sabah and Sarawak as vassals and colonies of the peninsula and bring back the nation in line with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 which pledges an Equal Partnership of Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula.