KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno has been told to understand the speech made by Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili first before lashing out.
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Youth chief Christopher Mandut said Ongkili only brought up the issue of Sabah's illegal immigrant problems that remains difficult to solve due to past mistakes.
"He (Ongkili) said this has become such a difficult issue to tackle because there was a political party that used illegal immigrants as supporters
"Datuk Seri Najib Razak's statement admitting this matter was even recorded in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) against illegal immigrants.
"Therefore, I am asking Sabah Umno and its chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin to stay calm, understand what Ongkili said before lashing out," said Mandut.
Ongkili, in his speech at the recently concluded PBS Congress, said Sabah had a poor history of addressing illegal immigrant issues to the point it was harder to handle now.
The PBS president also said that the matter started back when Barisan Nasional was in power decades ago.
This prompted many Umno and Barisan leaders to question Ongkili's speech, with Bung Moktar even threatening to expose PBS' mistakes and wrongdoings as well as warning Ongkili to stop making accusations.
Bung Moktar had also asked PBS to not backstab its "friends".
Mandut added that PBS had never betrayed its friends when it was still with Barisan.
"This was proven in the last election where Barisan placed candidates in almost all seats that were allocated to PBS such as Tandek, Matunggong, Kadamaian, Melalap and Bengkoka.
"Even then, PBS did not make noise," he said, adding that the threats and warnings from Umno or Bung Moktar would not dampen their spirits to continue voicing out issues concerning the people of Sabah.
