PBS: PH PROMISES TOUGH TO BELIEVE
Party president says this is because Pakatan chairman himself described GE14 manifesto as not being set in stone
ANY promises made in the Sandakan parliamentary by-election by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition will be tough to believe.
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said there were key pledges which the pact had failed to deliver since it formed the federal government, following its victory in the 14th General Election (GE14), exactly a year ago.
These unfulfilled pledges include the appointment of the Sabah chief minister as the finance minister, increasing the oil
royalty to 20 per cent, channelling a third of the national development expenditure to the state, as well as returning half of the federal tax revenue collected in Sabah. “These promises will remain janji
terang bulan (empty promises),” Ongkili said, adding that it would be the same if new pledges were made by DAP that was fielding Vivian Wong Shir Yee in the byelection this Saturday.
Wong is defending the seat for the Parti Warisan-PH-Upko alliance, that was formed after GE14. Her late father Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt had won the contest for the seat.
The two-term Sandakan member of parliament died on March 28, paving the way for the by-election.
Former Batu Sapi member of parliament Datuk Linda Tsen Thau Lin from PBS is up against Wong in the five-cornered fight.
The three other candidates are independents Sulaiman Abdul Samat, Hamzah Abdullah and Chia Siew Yung.
“Even PH’s GE14 manifesto was described by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as bukan kitab , so what’s there to look forward to?” Ongkili said commenting on a statement by the PH chairman on the manifesto presented by the coalition as not being set in stone.
“Any new promise by DAP in the byelection will deemed a broken one. So why must we believe or trust them?”
PBS has offered to focus on being an effective opposition in Parliament.
Ongkili had said the party would stand its ground to provide checks and balances for the east coast constituency through Tsen, who he said could serve the people better due to her being an experienced leader.
PBS holds one out of 25 parliamentary seats and five of the 60 state seats in Sabah, after switches among state parties saw new political affiliations and coalitions being formed following GE14.
“We are offering PBS to be the voice for the Sandakan people in Parliament.”
Luyang assemblyman Ginger Phoong Jin Zhe had said DAP saw Sandakan’s economy as the biggest concern among constituents they engaged while campaigning for Wong.
“We want to let people know that we value their concerns seriously,” said Phoong, who is Wong’s campaign manager.
“It’s only a year since we (PH) formed the new government. We admit that there are those who are unhappy (with our progress). However, we are confident that we will see progress in coming years before the term ends.
“We are doing our best to ensure that the economy and people’s livelihood will improve.”