Dismissing the remark by the four-party United Sabah Alliance (USA) that the hearing and the invite was a “self-contradition” on the part of the Sabah government, state minister with special functions Teo Chee Kang said he however, respected their decision to boycott today’s hearing.
“We respect the decision by USA. However, we are amazed by their accusation that the state government, by holding the hearing, was in self-contradiction,” Teo told the Kota Kinabalu-based daily.
The SRRC hearing, held behind closed doors, begins today and it is chaired by Teo, who is the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president.
On Tuesday, USA, which comprises Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, decided to boycott the SRRC, citing the state government having disallowed their motion to discuss Sabah rights in the state legislative assembly in November last year.
“It is a grave self-contradiction that the government, on the one hand, had disallowed the motion by elected assemblymen to discuss Sabah rights in the state legislative assembly, but now sees fit to invite opposition parties to the hearing session,” the coalition said.
In response, Teo said it was the state legislative assembly that rejected the Motion on Sabah Rights, not the state government.
“You cannot equate the state assembly with the state government,” Teo was quoted as saying by Daily Express.
By organising the hearing, he said, the state government is now providing a platform for all political parties to give their feedback and views.
“However, the basis of demands must be set out. It must be referred to contractual or constitutional provisions to support the claims, and not just a ‘we want this, we want that’ rhetoric during the hearing,” Teo told the daily.
Teo added that the SRRC hearing was the ideal platform for all political parties to give their feedback and views, because the “Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties have other avenues to ensure their views reach the state leadership”.
“Our objective at the hearing is to gather relevant views from all parties.”
Meanwhile, Upko vice-president Marcus Mojigoh, weighed in on the hearing, calling it vital in the fight for Sabah rights.
“The federal government must listen to the people of Sabah. It must look into their needs and interests.
“There’s no Malaysia without Sabah and Sarawak. There would only be Malaya in Federation,” he told Daily Express.
The bottomline, Mojigoh said, was to let the federal government know what the people of Sabah are thinking and what they want from Malaysia.