Are you saying BN ‘owns’ police and army, Najib?

KOTA KINABALU: Local opposition State Reform Party (STAR) has taken offence to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s reference that the opposition parties were a threat to national security.

Accusing Najib of being hypocritical towards security in Sabah, STAR chief Jeffrey Kitingan reminded the prime minister that it was his administration that had ignored the pleas of a former OCPD for help in Sabah and was slow to act on the Lahad Datu incursion.

“Let us not forget that the ex-OCPD of Lahad Datu, Khamis Daming, had revealed that for years the federal government had ignored his pleas for help in strengthening the weak defence preparedness in Lahad Datu.

“Daming had said, ‘If only KL had listened…’ pointing out that the Lahad Datu police never had sufficient equipment and their four-wheel drive vehicles always broke down and the petrol boats were in dire condition, among numerous defence weaknesses and neglect.

“The federal government under the BN acted too late, and only after the loss of lives and property, ” he said.

Jeffrey said Najib’s assurance in a speech in Bongawan yesterday that only Barisan Nasional can defend Sabah from external threats was ridiculous.

“Since when did the opposition become a threat to the nation? Najib is deliberately twisting the facts. The one to defend a Malaysian state or the nation is not BN, not a political party but the government of Malaysia.

“To say that only BN can provide such a defence is nonsensical because no political party or coalition in Malaysia has any police force or army. The police and the army belong to the people of Malaysia, not to BN,” he said.

Jeffrey added that by making such statements, Naijb was only “confirming the accusations” that the Lahad Datu incursion was staged by BN to frighten people.

“The prime minister shouldn’t be making statements about security to frighten Sabahan voters into voting for the BN.

“This behaviour on the part of the prime minister seems to confirm the accusation that the Lahad Datu intrusion was staged to frighten the people into supporting the BN, and that there was a lot of sandiwara in the whole affair,” he said.

Ignorant Najib

Meanwhile, another STAR leader Daniel Jambun also took Najib’s to task over his “ignorance about Malaysian history”.

Jambun said he was shocked to hear Najib say that “Sabah had made the right decision to join the Malaysian federation, which paved its path to independence on Sept 16, 1963 “.

“This is really shocking coming from the prime minister, as it shows his ignorance about Malaysian history. He does not know the genesis of Malaysia, his own country.

“No wonder the Malayan attitude towards Sabah ‘s rights and autonomy will never change,” he said.

Jambun said this ignorance about historical facts was not just limited to Najib but was also seen in all Malayan ministers and government officers.

“Obviously, Najib needs to be educated that Sabah never joined Malaysia, but formed Malaysia together with Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak.

“This creation of Malaysia did not lead to Sabah ‘s independence. We became an independent and free nation two weeks before that, on Aug 31, 1963,” he said.