APS leaders looking at a local united opposition party

BUMBURING: Hoping that local opposition parties would consider a consolidation with his APS to form a new Sabah-based party.

KOTA KINABALU: Former deputy Chief Minister Datuk Wilfred Bumburing is seriously considering the possibility of registering the Sabah Movement of Change (Angkatan Perubahan Sabah or APS) as a political entity.

But he said he would explore all available options first, and that could include involving the Sabah Progressive Party as well as the Sabah STAR headed respectively by his one-time allies in PBS.

“There is still a need for either a Sabah or Borneo-based political party or some sort of a pact based from the feedback we have got from the people,” Bumburing (photo) told a press conference after an APS meeting here Wednesday.

He said at the meeting, they made a decision to talk with other pro-opposition non-governmental organisations as well as political parties on the prospect of having a consolidated Sabah Opposition Front.

“We are going to discuss this with other parties with similar ideologies as us; we can only get stronger after this and hopefully the next time around, there can be truly a one-on-one fight with the BN,” said the newly elected Tamparuli Assemblyman.

Bumburing said he was willing to talk with Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (the SAPP and STAR leaders) on the political future, while not ruling out a direct affiliation with Pakatan Rakyat as well.

Bumburing, like former UMNO warlord, Datuk Lajim Haji Ukin, had quit as BN MPs last year and stood on a PKR ticket in the 13th general elections.

Both however lost their parliament seats but instead won in their former State constituencies; Lajim in Klias.

Lajim has since said that his organisation, the PPPS, had opted to join PKR direct and consolidate the national-based opposition party. PKR will officially have six seats in the State Assembly.

Bumburing and Kitingan would be the loners, though the Tamparuli representative would be backing the PR men, who apart from the PKR six, also have four from the DAP.

Bumburing also claimed that the winds of change had moved towards the Kadazandusun communities as the people were just fed up with the BN, and that more KDM seats could have been won had it not been for a host of reasons.

On his former boss in UPKO, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, who lost in Penampang, Bumburing said the former Minister had undeniably done good things for the State, but probably because of certain overriding factors he lost.

“But we are still good friends and we have never hit out against each other during the election. Dompok would have won had UPKO pulled out from the BN about the time I quit,” he added.

Bumburing also disclosed that his candidates would seriously consider filing election petitions in certain areas where they narrowly lost, claiming that they had solid evidence of irregularities that caused their defeats.

He however did not elaborate except to add that the indelible ink usage was a fiasco.

APS will hold its first annual general meeting on July 29 this year, which also coincide with its first anniversary.

By Melen Domi