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Reaches uneasy truce after meeting key Barisan Nasional MPs from Sabah

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has managed to head off a possible crossover of Sabah Barisan Nasional MPs to the Opposition by meeting key political players from the East Malaysian state.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt that the Prime Minister had discussions over the past 24 hours with Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee, Upko president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok and several other Sabah politicians to assure them that the administration was serious about developing the state and addressing their concerns over the lack of recognition for BN politicians from Sabah.

He touched on some of the progress made since he met them behind closed doors after Election 2008. At that meeting in April, Sabah political parties put forward several demands including the dismantling of the Federal Development Department, more representation at federal level, more funds from the federal government and concrete measures to tackle the illegal immigrant problem.

Since then, Abdullah has appointed Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and Dr Ronald Kiandee as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament respectively. But a slew of Sabah politicians, who are being wooed by the Pakatan Rakyat with promises of cash and more senior positions at federal level should the BN government fall, have become restless. They want Abdullah to reshuffle the Cabinet and appoint more Sabahans as ministers and to more important portfolios.

Datuk Yong Teck Lee met the PM in Parliament today and assured him that SAPP’s two MPs will not join the Opposition but added that the window of opportunity for the administration to show its commitment to Sabah was fast closing. He told reporters that he could not discount the possibility of his party crossing over if nothing was done by August.

Abdullah swung into action after listening to Datuk Ghapur Salleh (MP for Kalabakan) debating the Royal Address on Monday. Ghapur called on the PM to reshuffle his Cabinet by the end of the year, saying that it was insult to Sabah MPs to be given only 3 ministerial positions when it was Sabah and Sarawak MPs who ensured that BN secured a simple majority in Parliament.

He noted that Johor had seven ministers while Selangor, which fell to the Opposition, were rewarded with four Cabinet positions. Ghapur also wondered why Sabah was given three relatively junior portfolios – Culture, Arts and Heritage, Science Technology and Innovation and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Ghapur warned that even though Sabah MPs might not cross over to the Opposition now, they might form new parties and leave open the option of joining them later. His comments sent the rumour mill into overdrive with Pakatan Rakyat politicians predicting that as many as 17 BN MPs will swear allegiance to the Opposition on Wednesday.

Abdullah’s government can collapse if 30 BN MPs cross over to Pakatan Rakyat. Ruling coalition leaders are confident that the Pakatan Rakyat will not be able to obtain the numbers to force Abdullah’s government to fall. But they do not want to underestimate Anwar Ibrahim’s influence nor the ability of Pakatan Rakyat to entice BN MPs with promises of money and senior positions.

Several Sabah MPs have told their BN colleagues that they have been offered between RM20 million and RM30 million each to cross over to the Opposition and persuade some of their colleagues to do the same. The kingmakers in this group have been assured senior Cabinet positions if Pakatan Rakyat forms the next government.

Abdullah’s intervention yesterday and today probably persuaded some BN MPs from Sabah from crossing over. But he will have to come up with more than just assuring words if he is to persuade them to put away their threats for good.

YONG TECK LEE on:

Crossovers from Sabah BN MPs

"I told him there will be no crossovers anytime now but if nothing is done about the issues, I would not discount the possibility of it happening. The issues are real. I don't think tomorrow or in the next matter of days you find flocks of MPs jumping. But it is also my view which I presented to BN even though in the short term there is no crossover, we cannot rule out the possibility that sometime in the future, a matter of weeks or months, that there will be a sudden crossover."

Issues important to Sabah

"Political autonomy, special status of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, the cooking oil subsidy scheme, illegal immigrants, the extension of federal laws to Sabah, some of which are to our detriment and the operation of some federal departments, some to our detriment. But some of the agendas must be given immediate attention and must give a time frame to solve the problem. If you solve these problems, then you remove the underlying cause of the motivation for crossover."

Why he set the August deadline for Abdullah

"The fasting month will be September, Hari Raya in October and Umno elections in December. I think the maximum we can go is August for our issues to be settled. After December, Sabah will be forgotten again. We in Sabah, will go back to our subservient role, quietly go on with our lives, or it will explode, other players will come in. Other players will come into the Opposition, people from outside the BN will take the forefront, not us."

On Anwar Ibrahim

"Anwar has already become a factor by promoting attractive, easy to understand themes for Sabah like 20 percent oil royalty which means two billion ringgit a year for the state."

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