KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak (pic) has hit back at Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, calling the latter 'ungrateful'.
This follows Ongkili's allegations that the previous Barisan Nasional government had done a bad job in tackling illegal immigration in Sabah.
“He made a statement alleging there were parties in Barisan that helped produce dubious identification cards,” the former Sabah chief minister said during a forum at the state Barisan convention here on Saturday (July 2).
He said Barisan can lodge police reports against Ongkili if he mentioned Barisan as the culprits for this as it could be considered defamation.
During the PBS congress, Ongkili had said the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants reported that there were parties in the then-Barisan state government that were party to issuing documents to illegal immigrants in Sabah.
He had also said that the then-Barisan government did not do a good job of tackling the issue from the start.
Salleh said Ongkili was ungrateful for making such claims because all this while Barisan had helped him win elections in the Kota Marudu parliamentary seat.
“The election machinery worked hard to help Ongkili win in Kota Marudu. Do not be ungrateful,” he said.
“Do not be emotional. Be grateful. Today he (Ongkili) says that Barisan is the worst but doesn’t he know that the Prime Minister is from Barisan?” he asked.
Salleh said since Ongkili leads the committee on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), he should also include members from Barisan.
“We are also fighting for MA63,” he said.
During the forum on Sabah politics and the economy, other speakers such as Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek shared their views.
He said Sabah has always been an important national economic contributor and will always continue to be.
He shared how Sabah must move forward and work with national leaders to achieve this goal, as many inter-global trades and transactions involved federal laws.
Moderator and Sabah Umno secretary Datuk Hasnol Ayub said among other issues touched on were differentiation between local and national parties.
He said both have their pros and cons but moving forward, the state must look at Sabah’s developments together with national objectives.
“We cannot isolate ourselves and being able to work with the national team can help address economic and social issues,” he said.
