The local opposition party leader said Sabahans had been depending on others for too long.
“For so long, since the World War 2, we Sabahans have depended on others to determine our fate and our future despite having attained self-government in 1963 and merging with the Federation of Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia.
“Look where this dependency on others has taken us,” said the Bingkor assemblyman in a statement.
He claimed Sabahans had been cheated, pushed around, bullied, “robbed” of their oil and gas resources and their culture, and that Sabah was being run “like just another subservient Malay state”.
“Even our rights as a partner and as a self-governing territory under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), Inter-Governmental Committee’s report, the Federal Constitution, etc, have been ignored and eroded by a series of prime ministers.”
He said now two Malayan leaders, a former prime minister and the current one, were fighting for power to decide who would get to control the two east Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.
“Do we take sides or should we take our own independent stance?” asked Jeffrey.
“Let us not be easily influenced by political rhetoric and promises.
“By doing so, it doesn’t mean we Sabahans are anti-Malaya. We just want to assert ourselves to stress the fact that we can stand on our own and decide our future and what we want for ourselves.”
He said Sabah needed good leaders who could generate good ideas and policies and translate them into jobs, services and prosperity for the people and for Sabah and Malaysia.
“But equally important is this good leadership must be applied to benefit Sabahans and not the Malayan agenda as has happened during the Dr Mahathir Mohamad-era and is currently happening under Najib Razak’s Umno,” Jeffrey said.
He warned that Sabahans would continue on a journey towards a bleak future if they did not seize this window of opportunity in the upcoming general election.
“We are in dire need to take control of our own Sabah government which will not be subservient to Umno or Malayan leaders and work to reclaim its lost rights and autonomy as an independent nation in the Malaysian federation.
“Only that way can we chart our own destiny and future. The danger is that this same opportunity may never arise again,” he said.
Gabungan Sabah bukan budak suruhan BN, kata Jeffrey Kitingan
Jeffrey to leave Bingkor, but confident party will retain seat