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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

West Malaysian politics toying with Sabah

KUALA LUMPUR: It’s finally arrived, the official announcement that Sabah Barisan Nasional MPs Lajim Ukin and Wilfred Bumburing have quit the coalition.

Lajim, who announced his withdrawal in front of 500 people at Kampung Bukit Kallam on July 18, said: “I will sacrifice my RM20,000 monthly pay and perks as a minister for my struggle to uphold Sabah’s rights and fight corruption and cronyism.”

Bumburing, meanwhile, said last night he had sent in his resignation letter to BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

Both had earlier professed that they would remain “independent”, BN-friendly and likely to contest in the 13th general election.

But rumours are rife that Lajim may join PKR because de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has allegedly promised him that if he helps PKR win most state seats and Pakatan Rakyat wins in Sabah, then Lajim will be chief minister. Lajim has been eyeing the post since 1994.

However, this is a rather sceptical scenario for Lajim is said to be Sabah “most famous” frog and will go only where the guarantees are water-tight. He (and Bumburing) were on that “infamous team” who were supposed to join Anwar in 2008 but did not.

With a looming 13th general election and speculations of it “happening anytime now”, Sabah is quite frankly a powder-keg with both Anwar and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak pushing their political cart shopping for spineless MPs. Frankly, you get the impression that everyone’s sharing a room, if not a bed and the political lines merely illusory.

Both Lajim and Bumburing, meanwhile, are also holding separate “functions” on July 29, during which they will announce their pullouts from their respective parties – Bumburing from Upko and Lajim from Umno.

Interestingly enough, Anwar is also scheduled to be in Sabah next Sunday and tipped to attend Bumburing’s launch of a new political vehicle Sabah Reform Movement and Lajim’s Buka Puasa event.

What this will be is an irritation to Borneo Agenda campaigner Jefrey Kitingan, who has been trying to find a middle road with PKR vis-à-vis Pakatan in Sabah with the hope of achieving a consolidated opposition fight against BN.

But this isn’t likely to happen with Anwar having no interest in Sabah per se except to shop for MPs who are prepared to jump over to his side for money and position.

A source close to Jeffrey told FMT that Anwar wanted Jeffrey’s STAR to sort out and come to a compromise on the seats issues with Lajim and Bumburing.

“But Jeffrey flatly refused. He is not going to go with Anwar’s strategy.

“Jeffrey is crystal clear about STAR’s direction and will not compromise on his Borneo Agenda,” said the source.

Anifah close to Najib

Meanwhile, online blog, Malaysia Today, confirmed Kitingan’s angst.

The report by Raja Petra Kamarudin noted that Jeffrey is “quite upset” that Anwar is negotiating with BN leaders to switch camps “after the next general election”.

“This would mean the opposition would have to ‘give way’ to these people and allow them to win the election.

“The second would be: what if after they win they change their minds and decide not to jump after all because Barisan Nasional has counter-offered a higher price?

“They will only be jumping after the general election and after they have won their seats.

“[In the meantime], the opposition would have to help them win these seats, which is very risky.

“Hence [the reason why] Jeffrey is violently opposed to the idea and has told Anwar so in no uncertain terms,” wrote Raja Petra.

He also pointed out that Anwar is helbent on containing Jeffrey. And he is using Ansari Abdullah to do so.

Ansari is allegedly backed by Kimanis MP Anifah Aman, who is Chief Minister Musa Aman’s brother.

Anifah is also the federal level foreign minister and close to Najib.

Lajim factor

In this equation too we have Lajim, who Ansari and team see as a threat. It is known here that Anwar has also allegedly promised Lajim the PKR state chief seat and this is not sitting well with Ansari’s people.

This aside, Lajim is also no friend of the Amans. He is closely aligned to Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal, who’s also got Najib’s ear.

In fact, it was Lajim who, under the direction of Shafie, instigated protests and calls for Anifah to move out of Kimanis earlier this year and allow a Kimanis-born to contest in the constituency. But that fizzled out.

It’s common knowledge that Shafie dreams of becoming Sabah’s next chief minister and that Lajim who holds sway over westcoast Muslim in Sabah is an important ally for him.

Rumours of Lajim quitting Umno began last year and was as quickly “settled” when another speculation broke that Shafie, who is Rural Development Minister, had appeased Lajim with a RM150 million road project.

But apparently this wasn’t enough for Lajim who believes he has much to offer Sabah politics and wants to defend his Beaufort seat.

According to Sabah political blogger Selvaraja Somiah, with his latest announcement, Lajim will now train his guns on Musa and those closely aligned to the chief minister.

He said Lajim believes that Musa is poisoning Najib against him and is standing in the way of his candidacy.

“He believes Musa wants him out, so Lajim will do anything to enhance his political image, even if this means humiliating his senior colleagues in the party including Musa,” he said.

But he pointed out that the strategy may not work because the older Sabahans remember Lajim’s treachery from way back in 1987.

“In 1987, Lajim humiliated his then boss Joseph Pairin Kitingan during the swearing-in ceremony at the Istana because he was not appointed as deputy chief minister.

“He called him all kinds of names. Then in 1994, Lajim defected from Parti Bersatu Sabah which won the Sabah election.

“His action opened a floodgate of defections from PBS and saw the collapse of Pairin’s PBS government. He is doing it again,” said Selvaraja.

Lajim-Shafie’s strategy

Selvaraja said Lajim believes that if he continues with his “tantrums”, then Najib will sooner or later come to believe that Musa is no longer acceptable by the majority as chief minister.

In fact, word along Umno corridors in Kuala Lumpur is that some Sabah MPs have already conveyed their no confidence in Musa.

“Given this fractious relationship, any political development could serve as the trigger for a major upheaval.

“The moment Lajim withdraws support from Umno, others inside and outside the alliance will begin to exercise their leverage.

“They [Lajim and Shafie] are hoping to use this strategy to kill off Musa.

“They want Najib to intervene in Sabah’s affairs but that’s the last thing Najib would want to do. He knows what Musa has done,” he said.

It sounds like Lajim and Bumburing are hedging their bets and their followers are likely to do the same.

By Pushparani Thilaganathan FMT

86 comments:

  1. All Sabah people should stay united to support local Sabah party SAPP to take over Sabah government from party import in this GE13.

    Those hypocrites who still supporting party import to colonize Sabah are the traitors to Sabahans and should be charged for TREASON!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SAPP hanya parti nyamuk saja...selagi YTL ada dalam SAPP, jangan harap SAPP akan menang...mungkin pru13, SAPP tidak akan menang walau 1 kerusi pun...kerusi yang ada sekarang pun hasil dari BN, bos SAPP dulu..

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    2. why must ALL sabah people support SAPP. Star looks like a promising party compare to SAPP.

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    3. I would consider to vote for SAPP if YTL is not the president.

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    4. SAPP hanya bagi janji kosong sahaja.. YTL ada agenda beliau sendiri.

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    5. YTL tidak relevan lagi? banyak komen negatif terhadap beliau.

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    6. UMNO TOYED WITH US AS COLONIAL TOYS FOR 49 YEARS ON 31 AUGUST!

      31 August 2102 is supposed to be 49 years of "Sabah independence". This illusory independence was short lived and lasted only 14 days when it was annexed into "Malaysia" on 16 September.

      Malayan made us celebrate Malayan independence day for 47 years before it sunk in that they were imposing their national day on us!

      For Sabah to have the same date as Malaya reflected this colonial intention of subjugation us in Sabah and Sarawak which got its independence on 22 July 1963.

      It seems that the British of wanting to manufacture the illusion that we were independence and we chose to "join Malaysia". This is an arguable point as some people believe we had freely chose to "join in the formation of Malaysia".

      We were actually pushed into Malaysia if you judge the speed at which Britain and Malaya had bilaterally announced their decision to "form Malaysia".

      The not so alert Sabah and Sarawak leaders were caught by surprise and only then did they realize they had to protect their rights and came up with the 20/18 Points Agreement. Malaya kept quiet about our rights!

      It was not a question of whether Sabah and Sarawak had fully considered becoming part of another country.

      So if Sabah opposition parties do not unit to defeat and throw out the Malayan colonialists and their local puppets and declare independence we will remain their toys for 50 more years to come!

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  2. all Sabah people should support Borneo Agenda

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    Replies
    1. mungkin Borneo agenda disokong, tapi JK tidak disokong...boleh kah tu?

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    2. tapi cornelius lagi tidak ada penyokong langsung......itu boleh.

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    3. Saya bukan orang politik tapi nampaknya kita sangat perlukan Borneo Agenda sekarang ni termasuklah DR JK kerana dia semangat Borneo kini meningkat ke tahap yang tinggi. Bersatupadu rakyat Negara Sabah..!!!!
      jangan tunggu lain kali.....sekarang lah....Ini kalilah...!!!!!!!!!!!

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    4. Dr JK semangat borneo?? ataupun beliau berjuang untuk kepentingan sendiri sahaja.

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    5. If it is good for the people, we will support.

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  3. SAPP, STAR or PR ? Splitting into 3 ways......good news to BN

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely, BN will win again with the split votes from opposition party.

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    2. jangan lupa calon bebas...mesti ada tu...jadi 4 penjuru lah..kemungkinan kebanyakan kawasan 3 penjuru lah..

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    3. perlawanan byk penjuru akan memberi kelebihan kepada BN.

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    4. memang tiada peluang untuk pembangkang menang.

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    5. Betul-betul.

      Oleh itu semua penyokong kuat BN Umno diminta supaya tidak datang undi PRU13 akan datang sebab sudah TETAP konfiden menang.

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    6. BN doesn't need to work hard to get the people support because they know they will win this coming election. All thanks to the many opposition parties in sabah that refuse to work together.

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    7. kalau persaingan tiga penjuru berlaku, memang kelebihan pada BN.

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    8. Pasti pembangkang akan bersaingan kuat...jadi kemenangan akan berpihak kepada BN lagi.

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    9. Persaingan pembangkang akan memberi laluan kepada BN suntuk terus memenang.

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    10. Semoga pembangkang mencari peluang untuk bekerjasama. Persaingan antaranya tidak membawa kelebihan untuk mana-mana parti.

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  4. OMG, now we have another party by bumburing - Sabah Reform movement..how could his party can be registered when Usno is rejected by registrar..Bumburing could be an agent of BN.

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    Replies
    1. Setting up a party right before the next general election is not a smart move. They might no be able to get the approval from he Registrar of Society in time to compete for GE-13. Not to mention the limited time to gain followers.

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    2. is it true? before bumburing has been denied this rumor..

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    3. itu bukan partilah.... ini hanya satu movement macam BERSIH.....faham??

      Jangan jadi penakutlah.....dan jangan jadi sangat bodoh....

      inilah caranya menyapu keluar UMNO/BN dari Sabah.............

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  5. Jangan dihina pemikiran rakyat Sabah untuk memilih Lajim mengatasi Musa.Lajim hanyalah orang yang ingin mengambil kesempatan daripada politik semasa dan bukan bolih diharap untuk memimpin rakyat.Bumburing pemimpin acu-tak-acu dan hanya ingin meneruskan relevan beliau dalam politik dengan cara menarik perhatian umum kepada nya.Ini ialah atas sebab beliau mungkin tidak terpilih untuk mempertahankan kedudukan beliau dalam GE13 oleh UPKO.Sekurang-kurangnya sekarang ini dapat juga publisiti dan mungkin juga lain lain.........

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    Replies
    1. Lajim is seen as another political frog, frogs are not respected.

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    2. bagus diorang dua2 terus pencen dari politik...duduk di rumah main sama cucu2...

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    3. Lajim nad bumburing is waiting to be offered a higher pay. He will join whichever party that is able to pay him higher. Typical of politicians. Its always about the money even though they say its not.

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    4. Lajim seorang yang tiada pendirian, suka lompat parti..Musa jauh lebih baik dari beliau.

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  6. Replies
    1. SAPP will not be able to regain the people's support, not the Sabahans who witness what happened during his term as Sabah Chief Minister.

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    2. SAPP tiada peluang untuk menang..

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    3. No way for the 2nd time..

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    4. Hahhahahhahaa... Susah nak beri sokongan jika ada 'kisah silam'. hahaha

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    5. macam susah ja sapp mau menang pada pru akan datang.

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    6. SAPP tidak akan di terima rakyat, selagi YTL masih jadi ketua.

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  7. If Lajim Ukin and Wilfred Bumburing are no longer sincere to fight together with BN, it's better for them to leave.

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    Replies
    1. ya. lebih baik mereka keluar dari BN jika tidak lagi setia dgn BN.

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    2. Menafikan khabar angin tapi memang ada kebenaran pun.

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    3. Their heart is no longer for BN/UMNO. Let them be.

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    4. Bumbering confirm leaving, what about Lajim? Where were they be going?

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    5. Both will decide where to go. May be PKR?

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  8. So Sabahans, who will be winning the next general election?

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    Replies
    1. the future of sabah is in our hands. Vote wisely!

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  9. Lajim ka bumburing ka whoever want to join the opposition, let them be. They choose their path and they choose to be with the opposition, so what?

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    Replies
    1. i don't get the fuss over lajim and bumburing wanting to join the opposition party.

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    2. Let Lajim and bumburing jump whichever party they want. Or better yet, they should just retire from politics. Let the younger candidate take over their place.

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    3. Biar rakyat yang tentukan masa depan politik mereka:)

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  10. For the sake of the country, change the government if you think that the present government cannot function anymore. Talents are leaving the country while unskilled workers are imported. Crimes are happening daily. Corruption is the order of the day. The country's debt has ballooned to RM550 billion. Where is the government leading us?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are heading towards 1Malaysia, Islamic nation and Ketuanan Melayu.

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    2. The government need to change for the better if they want the people support.

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  11. my grandfather, father and now my generations have all been so poor. i won't allow my children to be poor continued or else my grandchildren will also be poor.Sabah for sabahans!Only hope is borneo agenda.

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    Replies
    1. no one wants their generation to be poor. Lets vote for the best party to lead sabah.

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  12. I don't see how the resignation of Lajim and bumburing would effect anything. Even if they do join PKR , it doesn't mean more people will vote for PKR.

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    Replies
    1. BN will still can win without Lajim and Bumburing.

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  13. Macam banyak sangat hal yang melanda umnobn ni. Tapi percayakah kamu kalau umnobn tetap akan jadi pilihan rakyat nanti???

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    Replies
    1. Indeed Bn will win, but guess not as many seats as last election.

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  14. Kalau tak percaya, kita tunggu dan lihat sajalah nanti.

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  15. Harap rakyat membuat penilaian yang tepat dan keputusan yang bijak.

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  16. ALTOUGH, i'm no longer a supporter to PBS ...
    BUT i still remember those party-hopper (toads you called), that changed Sabah political landscape forever.
    WE OUGHT TO REMEMBER what they have contributed by leaving an elected & LEGIT government. At least when PBS was the governemnt of the day, we were at least PROUD of ourselves although economically, we went into the wilderness.
    NOW, the West Malaysian are the centre of our universe. Our state governemnt, is nothing but a little adminstator for the masters in Putrajaya.
    WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HOW CAN IT BE "LEGIT" WHEN THEY WON BY GERRYMANDERING THE SYSTEM AND BRIBING VOTERS?

      HOW CAN IT BE "LEGIT"?

      PLEASE TELL US!

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  17. Are they? Then stop allowing yourself to be toy.

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  18. macam-macam isu yang berlaku, tapi biarlah mereka sendiri yang sahkan nanti.

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  19. apa pun, kebanyakan rakyat pasti tahu parti mana yang terbaik untuk mereka pilih nanti.

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  20. semua parti politik pasti akan kata mereka yang terbaik. tapi biarlah rakyat yang menilainya dan membuat pilihan.

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    Replies
    1. Itulah itu. Yang terbaik adalah pilihan rakyat. Itulah yang terbaik antara semua.

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  21. Biarlah rakyat sendiri yang menentukannya.

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  22. memandangkan YTL seolah liabiliti untuk SAPP.

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  23. Rakyat harus sedar dan bijak menilai selepas pengajaran yang diberi dari berpuluh-puluh tahunan. Jangan terkena perangkap janji manis.

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  24. So far I think BN was concerned, every promise made to the people would be fulfilled

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  25. The close relationship and teamwork between the State and Federal civil service is one factor that has contributed to the development of Sabah and well being of its people

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  26. Some news say Lajim quit from UMNO because the promise given by Anwar to him. If PR win Lajim will get the CM position. It's true?!!

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  27. Kalau kita lihat sekarang ini. Pembangkang seperti STAR tidak akan memberi peluang kepada pihak semenanjung menguasai Sabah lagi maka ini pasti termasuklah juga PR.

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  28. Sabah has progressed by leaps and bounds in a country stabilised by the coalition government ever since the formation of Malaysia in 1963, said former Premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The statesman said he first came to Sabah two years after the Federation of Malaysia was formed together with the late Tun Abdul Razak, who was then the Deputy Prime Minister.The visit was prompted by talks that Singapore, which had pulled out from the Federation in 1965, planned to merge with Sabah and Sarawak to form a separate country.

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  29. So, he said he accompanied Tun Razak to Kota Kinabalu or Jesselton at that time to explain to the people of Sabah that it was imperative for Sabah to continue in the Federation of Malaysia.They also made similar visit to Sarawak, he said, in his premier talk in conjunction with the Mubarak (Malaysia Ex-Elected Representatives Council) Day and its annual general assembly at Pacific Sutera, Saturday night.Also on hand were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and Mubarak President Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman. The talk was attended by some 2,000 people comprising delegates from various state Mubarak and State BN leaders, among others.

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  30. When Mahathir came here for the first time, it was only a tiny town and when we went to the interior there was not a single tarred road compared to now ... most of the people in Sabah now live in brick houses. Of course there are still some poor people in the villages.But in general, Sabah has attained tremendous development and many of its young people have obtained high education.In a press conference held before he delivered his talk, Dr Mahathir who had been the country's Prime Minister for nearly 30 years was asked on his view of the level of development in Sabah."I think it is very good indeed, I came here sometime ago since then there have been a great deal of progress I can't say about the rest of Sabah but Kota Kinabalu has grown to a big and beautiful town.

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  31. "They have taken a lot of pains to landscape. I went to this new town (Alam Mesra and) 1Borneo and it is developed very well, lots of people there."People in Sabah have a lot of money they can buy houses which I cannot afford," he quipped.Meanwhile, asked why the controversial rotation system of the Sabah Chief Ministership was excluded from his memoir "A Doctor In The House" he said it was due to page constraints."If I already have 140 pages, if I were to include (all) my (past) press conferences (it will go up) 3,000 to 4,000 pages. Even now people are complaining so hard to read ... its good for going to sleep," he said.

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  32. Dr Mahathir said it was up to the current Prime Minister if it wants to maintain the rotation system of the Chief Minister in Sabah that was proposed and implemented during his tenure as Prime Minister.Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said calling for a snap general election this year might not be a good idea for the Barisan Nasional (BN)."I am no longer in government but to my mind why so early if still have time," he said, when asked to comment on clues by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that the general election might be called in November this year.

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  33. He believed the BN government still can go on until 2012 but for him if possible he would want it to last until 2016 but the law would not allow it."Go as long as you like but don't go right to the end.In 1969, Tunku Abdul Rahman allowed Parliament to go right to the end (but) do that there is no surprise."(For) government you need the element of surprise.It is important you hide until the last moment then you have the election then you gain something," he said.On whether his opinion was based on the Sarawak state election result, Dr Mahathir said even before that he had thought that it would not be wise to hold the election early."I think still many people who do not understand the situation this country.

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  34. We have to explain to the people about the situation which is unique in Malaysia so they can choose good candidates," he said."I don't see why we should have early polls (yes) the economy is good compared to other countries but we still have extremist groups who do not understand about democracy."They make demands that can create problems in the country."What is the hurry of having an election? If situation is so very good we are sure to win then we can have the election at the moment with the racist people around us still playing up issues that tend to divide the people," he said.

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  35. "The best way for them to gain something for themselves was to join the coalition. They cannot expect to have everything they think they are entitled to," he said when asked on how he viewed the role of the smaller component parties in Sabah and Sarawak."They have to share with others, if you have that willingness to make that sacrifice, in return you get something that you want for yourself then you can be a member."If you are on your own you get nothing," he said.As for the racist groups in the country, Dr Mahathir believed there is a certain level because after four Prime Ministers it did not explode like in 1969 (racial riot) as other times racism was not effective.

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  36. "But now it is at the boiling point because of that we need to reduce the role of racists in instigating people so they don't do things that are not good," he said.On who should be the candidates for the leaders to choose, he said it depends not only on the leaders but in the end on the people, the followers the ordinary electorates, voters who are going to choose."If you are not smart you are going to choose the wrong leaders.There are those who are rather fanatical. They'll support a leader even if they know the leader is no good ... do that you will end up with bad leader."Voters must be able to discern good and bad leaders.Choose the good leaders ... that is why time is required as good leaders need to explain why they are good and others are bad.

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