RCI a result of BN parties’ solidarity – PBS

PENAMPANG: Delegates attending the PBS 29th annual congress here yesterday raised several issues when debating party president Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan’s speech.

The most pertinent issues they were concerned about were on power sharing, the presence of illegal immigrants in the state and security of Sabah.

Tambunan delegate Basal Bullah in his debate reminded the delegates of PBS’ role in championing the issue with regards to the presence of illegal immigrants in the state.

“There is no denying that PBS, since its inception has been fighting to see that this perennial problem affecting Sabah is resolved.

“We also know that PBS has always been in the forefront when raising this issue which finally led to the formation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in the state.

“Our President’s steadfastness in continuously raising up the concern of the rakyat about the presence of illegal immigrants in the state is inspiring. We also express our gratitude to Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah for appointing Tan Sri Pairin as Chairman of the Committee on citizenship which is represented by the Coalition’s members,” he said.

Basal disclosed that it was with the consensus of all the BN component parties in the committee that t he proposal for the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah be set up.

And it is as the result of Sabah BN components’ cooperation and unity in the matter that had spurred Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to make his decision to form the Royal Commission of Inquiry, Basal stressed.

“This clearly shows that all accusations against Tan Sri Pairin for not doing anything are false. As a responsible leader Tan Sri Pairin had carried out his responsibilities through the necessary channels,” Basal stressed.

The delegate representing Labuk, Raihana Rosni Dading Abdullah urged the PBS leadership to consider setting up a cyber-trooper unit in the party so as to counter slander and lies produced by keyboard warriors.

Raihana said that this is because social media and the Internet are now widely used to disseminate information and also to communicate with others.

She also proposed that PBS set up a ‘Sayap Muda’ (Youth Wing) for all those aged between 18 to 35.

“We need to get back the support of the youths and this is one way to do it,” she opined.

On the power sharing issue, the delegates called on the party’s leadership to ensure that appointments whether for government posts or political be done fairly among all BN component parties.

They claim that appointments to the posts are unfair as it is monopolized by a certain party.

The delegates also urged the party’s leadership to propose a better system to the government with regards to the PPR housing scheme now.

“The PPR is on a rental basis. If the tenant passes away, his or her spouse and children will have to move out of the unit. This will create housing problem for them. We need a better system to ensure that the surviving family members ar e not left homeless,” they said.