KOTA KINABALU: Sole STAR assemblyman Jeffrey Kitingan today slammed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Joseph Kurup, for his “disappointing” response to the latest asault on Christianity.
Kurup is the MP for Pensiangan constituency in Sabah.
“It is rather foolish for a federal Minister from Sabah to urge the people to remain calm without himself stating clearly his stand and what he will do to resolve the growing menace against religious freedom.
“He is no different from a doctor telling his patient who is suffering and in pain to go home and rest and remain calm without doing anything. Of course, no such doctor will do such a foolish thing,” said Kitingan who is Bingkor elected representative.
Kitingan, who is also chairman of the NGO the United Borneo Front (UBF) and STAR, noted that Sarawak BN leaders had been braver and had taken a stand on the matter with the state’s Chief Minister Taib Mahmud stating that the religious bigotry of the peninsula had no place in Sarawak.
“Another senior Sarawak Minister has now stated there cannot be two sets of legal interpretation on the Allah issue when the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of religion,” he added referring to Sarawak’s Land Development Minister James Masing.
“For the Sabah Umno and BN leaders led by the Chief Minister (Musa Aman), they now need to show courage and leadership in the face of adversity of their common foes from within and stand up to be counted or else leave the Barisan Nasional,” said Kitingan.
He said this was necessary to prevent the country from spiraling out of control.
“The government is shooting themselves in the foot and the PM has shown no courage and no leadership at all. It is small wonder that he is admonished by the daughter of an ex-PM,” he said today.
“Umno alone cannot be counted or relied upon to resolve the problem. They have a vested and biased interest and are the cause of the on-going threat against religious freedom, not just against the Christian faith.
“Therefore, the other BN components need to remind the PM that he is supposed to be the PM for all Malaysians not just the Malays or of the Peninsula.
“They need to tell the PM and Umno in no uncertain terms that the on-going spat cannot be allowed to continue and need to be stopped at all costs.
If unstopped, it will lead to the country being fractured along religious and racial lines,” he warned.
Onus on Sabah BN
He said opposition parties cannot resolve the problem on their own and that the solution and responsibility lies squarely with the BN and its components led by Umno.
Kitingan said the situation is more critical in Sabah and Sarawak who together symbolise the spirit of 1-Malaysia which can be seen in the peace, harmony and tolerance displayed by their multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities.
“This peace, harmony and goodwill needs to be and must be preserved at all costs.
“The onus now falls on the heads and shoulders of the Sabah Umno and BN leaders to stand up as Malaysian and community leaders to show their Umno/BN counterparts in the peninsula their stand to preserve peace and harmony in the country.
“As it is an Umno/BN internal causation, the solution lies within BN itself,” he said.
Kitingan added that Sabah Umno and BN leaders should not fear making a stand when the country is at a critical juncture.
“Just remember that in the end, the good will triumph over evil.
“If they are looking for Ministerships and positions, by leaving BN and joining with the Pakatan coalition, they will be similarly rewarded.
“Perhaps, their reward and position may even be better with the Prime Ministership of Sabah and senior federal Ministerships readily made available to them,” he contended.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/01/04/bible-seizure-sabah-bn-leaders-must-take-a-stand/
Kurup is the MP for Pensiangan constituency in Sabah.
“It is rather foolish for a federal Minister from Sabah to urge the people to remain calm without himself stating clearly his stand and what he will do to resolve the growing menace against religious freedom.
“He is no different from a doctor telling his patient who is suffering and in pain to go home and rest and remain calm without doing anything. Of course, no such doctor will do such a foolish thing,” said Kitingan who is Bingkor elected representative.
Kitingan, who is also chairman of the NGO the United Borneo Front (UBF) and STAR, noted that Sarawak BN leaders had been braver and had taken a stand on the matter with the state’s Chief Minister Taib Mahmud stating that the religious bigotry of the peninsula had no place in Sarawak.
“Another senior Sarawak Minister has now stated there cannot be two sets of legal interpretation on the Allah issue when the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of religion,” he added referring to Sarawak’s Land Development Minister James Masing.
“For the Sabah Umno and BN leaders led by the Chief Minister (Musa Aman), they now need to show courage and leadership in the face of adversity of their common foes from within and stand up to be counted or else leave the Barisan Nasional,” said Kitingan.
He said this was necessary to prevent the country from spiraling out of control.
“The government is shooting themselves in the foot and the PM has shown no courage and no leadership at all. It is small wonder that he is admonished by the daughter of an ex-PM,” he said today.
“Umno alone cannot be counted or relied upon to resolve the problem. They have a vested and biased interest and are the cause of the on-going threat against religious freedom, not just against the Christian faith.
“Therefore, the other BN components need to remind the PM that he is supposed to be the PM for all Malaysians not just the Malays or of the Peninsula.
“They need to tell the PM and Umno in no uncertain terms that the on-going spat cannot be allowed to continue and need to be stopped at all costs.
If unstopped, it will lead to the country being fractured along religious and racial lines,” he warned.
Onus on Sabah BN
He said opposition parties cannot resolve the problem on their own and that the solution and responsibility lies squarely with the BN and its components led by Umno.
Kitingan said the situation is more critical in Sabah and Sarawak who together symbolise the spirit of 1-Malaysia which can be seen in the peace, harmony and tolerance displayed by their multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities.
“This peace, harmony and goodwill needs to be and must be preserved at all costs.
“The onus now falls on the heads and shoulders of the Sabah Umno and BN leaders to stand up as Malaysian and community leaders to show their Umno/BN counterparts in the peninsula their stand to preserve peace and harmony in the country.
“As it is an Umno/BN internal causation, the solution lies within BN itself,” he said.
Kitingan added that Sabah Umno and BN leaders should not fear making a stand when the country is at a critical juncture.
“Just remember that in the end, the good will triumph over evil.
“If they are looking for Ministerships and positions, by leaving BN and joining with the Pakatan coalition, they will be similarly rewarded.
“Perhaps, their reward and position may even be better with the Prime Ministership of Sabah and senior federal Ministerships readily made available to them,” he contended.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/01/04/bible-seizure-sabah-bn-leaders-must-take-a-stand/
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