3 Sabah leaders quash talk of defections

KUALA LUMPUR: Three Sabah leaders have quashed talk of Barisan MPs defecting to the Pakatan Rakyat, but said that their feelings of discontent needed to be considered.
"Do not fall for any attempts to create ill-will. But we must listen to what the voters want, and deliver security and development to Sabah and Sarawak," Unity, Culture and Heritage Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal told reporters at Parliament lobby.
Asked about Umno Kalabakan MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh's statement that leaders from East Malaysia were given unimportant ministerial positions, Shafie, whose ministry is in charge of museums, just smiled.
"I do not deny there is unhappiness on the ground. But I am here to serve the people and what is more important, we deliver development and security to them.
"Whatever positions the Prime Minister wants to give, that is his prerogative," he said.
Echoing the view, Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said rife speculation of cross-overs was the work of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"This has happened before in Sabah, the incessant talk about hopping, it becomes an interesting subject.
"In PBRS, we have given our word to the Prime Minister that we will not defect. This hopping business is manipulative and one loses the respect of the voters," said Joseph.
Abdul Ghapur said the Prime Minister should be given until the end of the year to solve the problems in the two states.
On the issue of hopping, he pledged not to do it.
Government As A Result Of Party Hopping Will Not Last Long - Kurup

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 (Bernama) -- A veteran Sabah politician said the government that the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is trying to form through Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs switching parties will not last long.
Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said the people will not have confidence in a government formed in that manner.
Instead, the Deputy Minister for Rural and Regional Development, said the international community will not respect a government formed through party-hopping.
"I believe the world will not feel comfortable with such a government," Kurup said at the Parliament lobby when asked about the PR's efforts to entice Sabah MPs in a bid to form a PR government.
He said it was true that Sabahans were not happy with the way the federal government had handled some important issues, especially illegal immigrants, but that did not mean they had lost confidence in the BN government.
Kurup said he believed that BN's unity in Sabah was still strong as all (present) had agreed to be loyal to the BN during the meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi earlier.
"We've given our pledge. My party's stand is that we must honour the pledge in bad or good times... must (be) with BN," he said.
Kalabakan MP, Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh, also stressed that he will not switch parties although of late he has been seen as always questioning the federal government's actions especially on Sabah's development.
"Those people who are not satisfied, probably they would jump, (but) for me no... if I am not satisfied I won't jump to another party, (instead) I will form my own party," he said.
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president, Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, on the other hand agreed to having an anti-hopping law.
According to him, if a people's representative wanted to party hop, a by-election should be held to give an opportunity to the people to choose who should represent them.
Umno Youth chief, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, said every BN component party must be united in any situation to ensure the struggle to care for the people was achieved.
"What is important is the principle of being one team. In difficulty or good times (we) must be united for the larger struggle of building a nation of just and loyal people who were not always politicising," he said at the Parliament lobby.
"If we are still shackled (by thinking about) who will be pulled or prodded to hop here or there, we will not have time to think how we are going to care for the people according to their wishes," Hishammuddin said when asked to comment about 16 MPs from Sabah who were said would hop parties Wednesday.
He blamed Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who he said made various promises during the last general election and his efforts to prod MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to join the opposition to form a new government.
"What Anwar is doing is changing the date of hopping week by week, he kept changing all the time and I was told today is Wednesday and we are supposed to have the new government," he said.
Kota Belud MP, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, described the actions of the opposition to offer "a large share" to MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to switch parties as showing their (the opposition's) true colours.
"This is another way for them to cloud the people's vision. How are they going to form a government that is supposedly free of corruption if they offer bribes to the people's representatives to form a government," he asked, admitting that he had at one time been offered a lot of money to hop party.


tunku : anwar the moron is playing psycho game. if he has the mp's, he had done it quietly.the rumours said that on 14th may , 30 bn mp's will jump ship to pakatan but nothing happen so far.now the said they are waiting till they can get 40 bn mp's. anyway like i said before those who wants to jump ship or playing blackmailing game, do it now.we can't bother people who likes to blackmail us.if they come in a good and proper way, then we should listen to them and resolve the problems but not by blackmailing.again we have weak leadership, that's why people can easily blackmails the leadership.