Bumburing: BN's KDM leaders "a marriage of convenience" and "damage control"

Former Upko deputy chairman Wilfred Bumburing says last Sunday's meeting of PBS, Upko and PBRS leaders was merely to showcase a 'marriage of convenience'.

KOTA KINABALU: An 11th hour deal by Barisan Nasional’s Kadazandusun and Murut (KDM) leaders to unite after more than a decade of backstabbing and skulduggery is being viewed as more wheeling and dealing to fend off a possible flop in looming general elections.

Wilfred Bumburing, the MP for Tuaran and former deputy chief in the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko), should know. He quit the ruling coalition and the party in July last year complaining that his fellow native leaders were forever playing politics with various important issues concerning the state.

Himself a KDM leader of some repute, Bumburing poured cold water on the joint statement on Sunday by Bernard Dompok of Upko, Joseph Pairin Kitingan of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Joseph Kurup of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) as little more than drama.

He termed it “a marriage of convenience” and “damage control” by the three leaders to face the general election.

Bumburing, who now heads a pro-Pakatan Rakyat political platform called Angkatan Perubahan Sabah or Sabah Reform Movement, said Pairin, Dompok and Kurup know that the political mood in the state is not in their favour and they need to show unity.

But is it genuine, he asked, pointing out that similar efforts were made in 2007 which involved the same three leaders but nothing came out of it and the KDM community splintered into ever smaller groups.

Bumburing said it was he who had organised the event on Dec 1, 2007, themed `Friendship and Reconciliation Day’ at Kampung Dalit in his constituency.

He recounted that several KDM leaders from both side of the political divide attended the function where a pledge was taken by Pairin, Dompok and Kurup to work together for the betterment of the KDM community and that was the end of it.

Self-serving gesture

The trio, he said, even affirmed their commitment by putting their signatures on a huge gong symbolising the first step towards lasting unity in the KDM community by initiating reconciliation talks between the three parties.

“However, for reasons best know to themselves, the three leaders never ever met to pursue the agenda of unity that I started for them,” he said.

“Conveniently, only now the three leaders seem to have finally come to their ‘keinsafan’ (awareness) that the three of them need each other in facing the people … after realising that they no longer enjoy the support of the people, especially the KDM community,” he said.

Bumburing also pointed out that the PBS, Upko, PBRS’s ‘Operasi Tataba,’ which is providing aid to various churches in selected constituencies showed that their traditional support within Christian community was shaky.

He said while it was laudable that they were distributing aid to churches the timing of the assistance was self-serving.

On Sunday Pairin, Dompok and Kurup, accompanied by their party members, joined hands at a gathering at the Hongkod Koisaan, the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association headquarters in a show of unity aimed at strengthening the KDM community’s support for BN.

Pairin, in his speech, said PBS would continue to cooperate with Upko and PBRS to ensure the KDM community is not sidelined and that they would together thwart any attempt to change the political demographic of Sabah.

Dompok told the gathering that it was important that there was awareness that all the KDM political leaders were gathered knowing that unity was important for the community.

When it came to his turn Kurup said: “We have been fighting among ourselves for a long time where in the end, our own human race stands to lose. Sad to say, we are only useful as decoration and useful only to other parties to serve their interest and achieve their objectives.”

Joseph Bingkasan