STAR MAY GO IT ALONE

Star to fight it alone if necessary: Jeffrey

Penampang April 22, 2012: Sarawak-based Star's Sabah Chairman, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, said it will have no choice but go into the election battle on its own if other opposition parties, namely Pakatan Rakyat and SAPP, do not give it sufficient opportunity to discuss seat distribution.

"We may have to resort to 'Plan Z' or the last resort.

"We may just have to face the election on our own,"

he said, when launching the Kota Kinabalu, Putatan and Penampang divisions of Star at the KDCA Cultural Village, Saturday.

He said local opposition parties in Sabah need to realise the potential of their cooperation because as a united front they will be able to be the kingmakers and demand Sabah rights from Kuala Lumpur.

"Even the parliamentary seats must be given to local parties because through these seats Sabah can speak up in parliament for Sabah rights," he said.

"The parties in the peninsula already have 75 per cent of the seats in parliament and it is gross injustice for them to come here and take our seats as well."

He reiterated Star's stance that it is supportive of the one-on-one formula if it can be achieved, and expressed concern that negotiations on the matter have been without mutual consultation and without respect for certain parties.

Also present were the Deputy Chairmen of STAR Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari, Daniel John Jambun and several observers from other political parties.

The occasion also saw the entry into the party by Upko's former Supreme council member Biuh Badung, Catherine Jikinon who resigned from Upko Penampang Women's Movement to join Star, Richard Jayasuriya who was formerly the President of Pasok, one Umno Malaysia Exco member, Lucy Batak who resigned from PBRS' Women's wing and Elizabeth Augustine who left Putatan's Umno Women's wing.

Meanwhile, he claimed the reluctance by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to announce the setting up of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) spoke volumes of the ruling's party's non-committal stand on the matter.

"I am informed that Najib avoided any chance of him being asked by reporters on the RCI while he was on visit here and in Sandakan," he said.

"It shows they have something to hide, if not the Prime Minister should have announced it since it involved a sovereignty issue.

"If they are sincere in solving these perennial problems in Sabah, the Federal and State governments should have aggressively carried out the setting up of the RCI by now," he said.