When froggies do a hop, step and jump right back into the BN pond!

By Haris Ibrahim


In January, this year, I had breakfast with the right-hand man of an UMNO divisional leader who has fallen out of favour with Najib and who therefore feels his chances of being picked as a candidate in the the next GE are now practically next to nothing.

Halfway through my second thosai, I was asked if my connections with PKR were good enough to get the divisional leader an appointment with Anwar.

I asked why this appointment was sought.

He said that his boss wanted to know if he, and a good many from his division would cross over to PKR, would he be guaranteed a seat to contest in the GE.

I laughed and replied that even if I was sufficiently connected to PKR to get his boss that appointment, which I was not, I would not help them get the appointment.

His turn to ask why.

My reply was short.

If they were exiting UMNO bacause  it had suddenly dawned on them that UMNO is, was, and had been , all these years, the curse of the nation, well, better late than never, but then that exit should not be conditional upon their receiving something in return. Just get out and join the rakyat to ABUkan the nation.

If, however, they were merely leaving because they now were out of favour with party leadership, well all the more reason why they should not be given consideration for any seat, as they were then prime candidates to walk back into UMNO, having won on an opposition ticket.

I share this with you because of my concerns with the ongoing “err…count us in, err…count us out”, Bumburing – Lajim saga in Sabah. FMT has the latest in this tiresome episode HERE.

Talk of these crossovers have been heard in all corners of Sabah since January this year.

What has also been talked about is how talk of these impending defections have been used as ‘bargaining chips’ in talks between Lajim and CM Musa.

The latest I am hearing is that Lajim is demanding that he and his boys who walk out with him be allocated 20 seats to contest whilst Bumburing would have 18 seats for himself and his exiting men.

Are Lajim, Bumburing and their respective supporters walking out of their respective parties because their consciences will not allow them to endure another day keeping company with the robbers and thieves that make up BN?

If so, let them do so asking for nothing in return other than, perhaps, the forgiveness of the people for their being so long a part of the rape and plunder of the nations of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak.

Better yet, offer to restore to the people what little that’s left of their share of the ill-gotten gains they have acquired by being so long subservient to the echelon in BN and turning a blind eye to the impoverished state of so many.

If, however, this move to change camps is motivated by nothing more than an 11th hour attempt to save political careers should the tsunami of 2008 now sweep through all of Sabah come the 13th GE, should not Pakatan and all other opposition parties slam the door shut in their amphibian faces?