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Political frogs: Jeffrey under attack

By Luke Rintod of FMT
KOTA KINABALU : State Reform Party (STAR) Sabah chairman Jeffrey Kitingan’s statement that “all Sabah politicians are frogs” in Bingkor last Sunday seems to have poked right into the hornet’s nest.

Politicians across the divide and coffeeshops are abuzz with arguments over who is or is not a “frog” in Sabah.

A barrage of defensive attacks against Kitingan by Sabah Barisan Nasional leaders made the local newspapers today, with vehement denials that Chief Minister Musa Aman and his deputy Joseph Pairin Kitingan ever were “frogs”, a term often used to demean politicians who ‘hopped’ from party to party.
Sabah BN secretary, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, said Kitingan’s accusation that Musa was also “frog” was both wrong and laughable.

“Musa changed party because there was an understanding that Usno was being dissolved for Umno to take over its functions.

“Even Pairin ditched Berjaya to form Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) because of fundamental principles,” said Abdul Rahman who is also MP for Kota Belud.

He refused to delve into the fact that Pairin also had joined Pasok briefly before his PBS was registered in time for the 1985 general election in Sabah.

Sabah’s Assistant Finance Minister, Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan, who is close to Musa meanwhile said it was a sad day for politics in Sabah when a politician used words such as “to look for solutions for Sabah” as an excuse to defend his hopping six times from one party to the next.

“Musa did not jump from Usno to Umno. He joined Umno when the party was the opposition in Sabah at that time but more importantly he did not party-hop as an elected representative unlike Dr Jeffrey (Kitingan),” Tawfiq said.

PBS information chief, Johnny Mositun meanwhile, accused Kitingan of hopping into another party every time he failed to secure the top leadership post in a particular party he was in.

“Sabahans know his background and will judge him accordingly,” Mositun said.

Blogs in favour of Kitingan

Meanwhile, another Umno leader who is also the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Masidi Manjun, said Kitingan’s excuse was lame.

“Jeffrey’s (Kitingan) favourite game is hop, step and jump”, Masidi said.

In his speech at the launching of STAR Bingkor, Kitingan said that all Sabah politicians are “frogs” and that he was not the only one who switched parties.

He also said that while he hopped “seeking” for solutions for Sabah, others were selfish enough and only stayed with a party that gave them comfortable positions and lucrative benefits, sometimes sacrificing their true struggle for Sabah and its people.

“They are actually ‘fat frogs’ now, so they don’t jump anymore..,” he said describing his past moves as principled and based on a ‘struggle’ to regain the independence and autonomy of Sabah.

Meanwhile a random check of comments posted on blogs and websites over the issue leaned in favour of Kitingan.

Many postings defended him as a true fighter and seeker of justice for Sabahans, while others were merely doing it for their own self-interest.

The local grapevine and coffeeshop natter meanwhile are abuzz with names of those who had leapt before and speculations of who will do it now and for what purpose.

The auditing by the laymen revealed that Musa was once a member of Berjaya party which was led by Harris Salleh. He later joined Usno and is now with Umno.

There’s also rumours that Pairin, the Huguan Siou of the Kadazandusun, was once linked to the now defunct Pekemas in 1970s and another party USAP or BUNAP.

‘Jumping not the issue’

Others also claimed that Pairin was instrumental in the setting up of Upko even while Bernard Dompok was still in PBS. Dompok now leads Upko.

“Can we say Pairin encouraged party-hoping then?” asked a man during a friendly coffeeshop discourse in Kota Belud, 70 km from here.

Veteran politician, Fredoline Edwin Lojingki, 72, however is of the view that ‘jumping’ is less of the issue than what a politician does during his leadership.

“In Sabah, actually all are frogs, but who among these frogs are really fighting for the state rights and the people?” he argued.

Lojingki, who was with Unko in 1960s and then with PBS until he quit the party recently to join STAR also opined that there is a great difference between what Kitingan is trying to achieve and that of his other contemporaries in Sabah’s politics.

“Yes Jeffrey (Kitingan) jumped parties, but clearly he was not doing it for his own self interest, otherwise he could have just stuck with a ruling party, kept his mouth shut and enjoyed all the perks and leisure time, no need to travel to the remotest places in Sabah just to tell them what their rights are…” said the veteran activist.

Meanwhile Kitingan has yet to respond to the barrage of attacks by BN leaders on him.

When contacted Kitingan declined to respond but said that ‘issue’ would continue to reverberate among the grassroots here ahead of a looming general election that ultimately would decide all the leaders’ future.

46 comments:

  1. Let all the frogs sing together now... hahaha ha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Croak. Lompat si Katak lompat, lompatlah tinggi-tinggi. Croak.

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  2. Jeffrey adalah pemimpin politik yang paing gemar lompat parti. 6 kali dia lompat parti. sikap jeffrey yang yang gemar lompat parti dah menunjukkan bahawa Jeffrey tidak ada pendirian dan tidak serius dalam perjuagannya.

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    Replies
    1. jangan-jangan nanti dia akan lompat lagi dari Star kalau Star tidak menang dalam pru nanti.

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    2. barangkali akan ada yang kali ke-7..

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    3. Once a frog, always a frog.

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    4. Wahh, banyak kali pula JK lompat parti, tidak hairan jika lepas ni beliau lompat lagi.

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    5. Selepas Parti Star ini, parti mana lagi akan jadi pilihan JK.

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  3. kini, Jeffrey menyertai Parti Reformasi Negeri (Star) dan menjadi pengerusi Star di Sabah. tapi tidak tau berapa lama Jeffrey akan bertahan dgn Star. tidak mustahil dia akan tinggalkan star selepas ini.

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    Replies
    1. Saya setuju dgn rahman.. dr jeffrey diberi peluang tanding oleh Pairin pada 1994 tapi sudah menang lumpat dan bawa lima adun pbs sertai PBRS.. apa bah dia mahu ini,, mahu jadi ketua menteri saja kali dalam otak dr jeffrey.. itulah sebab dia mahu bagi ini sabah kepada kononnya lima negeri salah sebuah negeri Keningau.. nah jadi CM Keningau pun jadilah.. hee

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    2. Jadi presiden parti sudah, sekarang ni JK pasang niat mahu jadi KM.

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    3. memang angan2 dia ni mahu jadi KM sabah..tapi belum tahu lagi bila angan2 dia jadi kenyataan...barangkali tidak akan jadi realiti..

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    4. If Star failed to win the next general elections, it is possible Jeffrey might jump again.

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    5. Lebih baik beliau bersara sahaja, rakyat tidak percaya dengan beliau lagi.

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  4. Disebabkan tidak mendapat jawatan dalam PBS,PBRS dan AKAR sebagai presiden, JK segera lompat parti. Masuk PKR pun tidak dapat jadi pengerusi PKR negeri terus lompat lagi. beginikah pemimpin yang lebih pentingkan perjuangan dari kepentingan sendiri??

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  5. Tidak perlu mengheret nama pemimpin lain untuk menutup kesalahan sendiri. setakat ni apa hasil perjuangan JK untuk rakyat dalam lebih 5 parti yang dia sertai??

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  6. Being a 'frog' is not wrong. It is wrong when you hop for your personal interest sake only.

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    Replies
    1. jumping too many times would indicate that something wrong is that leader. Would we want an inconsistent leader to lead sabah???I surely wouldn't want that sort of leader.

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  7. I bet he knows what to do if he is under attack again.

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  8. Simply do things together for the benefit of others.

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  9. He should remain firm in where ever he finds himself.

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  10. Let it be for the people not just politic interests.

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  11. Do not involve other innocent leaders.

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    Replies
    1. Jeff purposely involve others thinking that he could divert attention.

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    2. Impossible to divert since no one holds the record of highest number of party jumps in the country other than Jeffrey.

      sabah-go-green.blogspot.com

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  12. till now, there is still no leader that has jump party as many times as Jeff.

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    Replies
    1. Jeff still retains his title as the "king of the frog".

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    2. pasal tulah JK digelar sebagai raja katak...

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    3. Raja katak yang banyak cakap. JK memang tiada pendirian.

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  13. Jeffrey the King of Frogs have jumped from one party to another more times than any other politicians in the country.

    sabah-go-green.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JK raja katak...lompat si katak lompat..

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  14. kenyataan dari JK bahawa semua ahli politik sabah adalah katak adalah bertujuan untuk menutup kelemahan dirinya sendiri yang sebagai raja katak..

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  15. peluang kemenangan Star pada pru13 nanti pun macam samar2..sebab sudah pasti akan berlaku pertandingan 3 atau 4 penjuru yang mana undi pembangkang akan pecah..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peluang Star untuk menang langsung tiada.BN tetap jadi pilihan rakyat.

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  16. Who has betrayed Sabah?
    JK or the current leaders in Umno/BN?
    Who has done more damage to Sabah?
    JK and opposition or Umno/BN and Umno/BN leaders?

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  17. Yang terpenting, perjuangan STAR untuk mengembalikan hak-hak Sabah yang dihakis sejak 1963.
    Sabah adalah 1 drpd 3 rakan kongsi sama-rata dan sama-taraf dengan Malaya dan Sarawak.
    Sabah bukan 1 drpd 13 negeri seperti Perlis dll.
    Keluasan Sabah sama dgn 90 kali keluasan Perlis.
    Adilkah minyak keluar dari bumi Sabah hanya dapat 5% dan 95% diambil oleh Petronas. Kenapa harga minyak sama dgn Semenanjung dan tidak murah seperti Brunei.
    Subsidi gas yang dikeluarkan oleh Sabah dan Sarawak kepada pengeluar letrik di Malaya adalah RM19 bilion setahun. Sabah dan Sarawak dapat 0 sen subsidi setahun. Pengguna letrik di Malaya bayar kadar letrik dengan kadar yang jual lebih murah daripada pengguna letrik di Sabah dan Sarawak.
    Sabah negeri termiskin di Malaysia.
    Ngam kah semua itu?
    Kita mau Sabah kekal termiskin dan 1 drpd 13 negeri atau Sabah kaya-raya, maju dan makmur sebagai 1 drpd 3 rakan kongsi sama-rata dan sama-taraf dgn Malaya dan Sarawak?
    Fikir2kan lah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Star adalah parti Sarawak.. silap2 kalau Star berjaya rampas kerajaan, giliran Sarawak pula menjajah negeri Sabah.. itu Sapp tidak berjuang untuk mengembalikan hak2 sabah ka?? kenapa si JK tidak bergabung saja dengan Sapp?? kenapa perlu bawa parti dari Sarawak?? jawapannya, kalau dia join Sapp, dia tidak dapat jawatan presiden..

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  18. If we look the history of King Frog JK it the truth right.

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  19. Jeffery cuba menafikan semua ini tapi rasanya tidak dapat kerana fakta lebih kuat daripada apa yang Jeffery katakan.

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  20. as a frog, there are many types of snakes waiting to attack you.. you will become their food soon..

    ReplyDelete
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