UPKO, PBRS committed to strengthen cooperation

KOTA KINABALU: United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (UPKO) President Datuk Ewon Benedick and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) President Datuk Arthur Kurup expressed their commitment to strengthen the cooperation that has been initiated when the MADANI Government Cabinet was established towards future political collaboration.

“If the rakyat accept this as a good cooperation then why should future similar cooperation be prevented? We will cross the bridge when we get there,” Ewon said when asked if the crossministerial cooperation between him and Arthur would pave the way for a political alliance in the coming state election.

Ewon, who is also the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister, and Arthur, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security held a collaborative session between both ministries here on Tuesday night.

The session aimed to provide information to the top leadership of their respective parties regarding the policies and initiatives of ministries, agencies and departments under the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry and the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry as an effort to strengthen the government’s delivery machinery through the involvement of the leadership of both parties.

According to Ewon, the people can evaluate the ongoing cooperation and political collaboration as the state election approaches.

“We started cooperation through our roles in our respective ministries, and for me, if the people accept this good cooperation, why hinder other possible collaborations in the future?

“However, for now, it is appropriate for Datuk Arthur and me to strive and collaborate according to the capacities of our respective ministries to deliver what we should to the people in our country and in Sabah, specifically.

“Let the people judge for themselves; we do not want fake cooperation. We want evidence that we can work together,” he said.

Arthur in his response pointed out that UPKO and PBRS are both components of different coalitions, UPKO in Pakatan Harapan (PH) while PBRS is in Barisan Nasional (BN).

“Together BN and PH formed the unity government therefore any halatuju of the leadership (of the coalition) will be discussed and be based on the decision of the top leadership,” he said.

“At the grassroots level, especially in Sabah, what’s important is that we first show what values we can bring to the people, and the people can judge.

“We also want to show that we are open-minded and innovative in finding new ways to work through political cooperation.

“We want to demonstrate that the political future in Sabah is very bright with the current generation of leaders, local parties in Sabah, and perhaps even brighter with the leadership combination of the younger generation,” he said.

When asked to comment on the possibility of Umno, a member of BN cooperating with Parti Warisan and KDM in the coming state election, Arthur stressed that in principle, PBRS/ BN supported the formula of a unity government and is holding strong to the formula.

“For the state election, we will wait for the central leadership’s decision after the dissolution of the state assembly,” he said.

If the rakyat accept this as a good cooperation then why should future similar cooperation be prevented? We will cross the bridge when we get there.

Datuk Ewon Benedick