Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin and wife Toh Puan Norlidah R.M. Jasni, accompanied by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor and wife Datin Seri Juliah Salag, together with Ewon and invited guests getting ready to cut the celebratory cake in conjunction with the Christmas Day open house.
PENAMPANG (Dec 26): United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (UPKO) president Datuk Ewon Benedick welcomes the initiative of cooperation among Sabah leaders, including the merging of political parties.
He expressed hope that the collaboration efforts between Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) achieve the desired objective.
The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister stressed that the unity and cooperation among Sabah-based political parties, whether at the state or national level, are essential for the benefit of the people.
“I welcome any collaborative initiatives, not only the merger of political parties but also cooperation within the government itself, and I hope that PBS and STAR achieve their objectives.
“The people are watching us, especially since we previously discussed merging community-based parties in Sabah. I hope this cooperation becomes a reality, and hopefully, someday, I too will be part of a significant unification of parties in Sabah.
“For me, what’s essential is that this cooperative union is based on development demands and Sabah’s rights in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, focusing on the voices of Sabah leaders,” he said at his Christmas open house held at the Sabah Cultural Center here on Tuesday.
He said this when asked to comment on PBS and STAR’s desire to establish understanding and cooperation between the two parties.
Ewon, who is also Penampang Member of Parliament, also welcomed the cooperation among various party leaders in Sabah for the people’s benefit.
“The more we collaborate, the closer we get to seeing the effects of this cooperation, and I positively acknowledge the invitation from Datuk Armizan (Mohd Ali) and YB Jannie (Lasimbang) from the Pakatan Harapan (PH) to work with the GRS state government leadership.
“At the federal level, too, we (PH-GRS) collaborate as a significant coalition,” he added.
The event was attended by over 5,000 people and was enlivened with various choir performances and Christmas songs.
Additionally, a Jualan Madani Sale and an exhibition by the ministry’s agencies were organized to provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about financing and entrepreneurial programs offered by the respective agencies.
Also in attendance were Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin and his wife, Toh Puan Norlidah R.M Jasni, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, and his wife, Datin Seri Julia Salag, as well as state government leaders and heads of agencies from the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives.
STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan told reporters on Monday that his party and PBS do not want to rush their merger process to ensure that it is carried out in an orderly manner and achieve the objective of strengthening the parties’ struggle of looking after Sabah people’s interests.
He said the two parties are currently planning joint efforts to hold programmes that can help the people in the state just like the Christmas and New Year 2024 Open House here on Monday.
“There is great potential for other collaboration after this. We want the people to be able to give their blessing and support towards this collaboration so that we can help the people together,” he said at the open house programme, which was also attended by Juhar.
The Deputy Chief Minister I said such collaboration was important to ensure that the time, money and energy of both parties could be channelled to strengthen them and the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
“…of course, the support for GRS will increase and the unity of the KDMR (Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus) community will be strengthened,” he said.
Meanwhile, PBS deputy president Datuk Jahid Jahim said the leaders and members wanted to see the two parties work together more closely.
“(The cooperation between the two parties) is improving day by day, we hope that the understanding of the essence of the struggle is clear and that understanding can be formed precisely,” said Jahid, who is also Rural Development Minister.
On Dec 13, secretaries-general Datuk Julita Majungki (PBS) and Edward Linggu (STAR) said in a joint statement that the parties are expected to sign a memorandum of cooperation before Chinese New Year next year.