Ewon (left) and Arthur met to discuss Sabah's future.
KOTA KINABALU: Fresh from officially taking over the helm of United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), Datuk Ewon Benedick met with his Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) counterpart Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup to discuss Sabah’s future.
Ewon took over the Upko presidency after incumbent Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau stepped aside during the party’s triennial general meeting on Sunday (Jan 15), while Arthur took over from his father Tan Sri Joseph Kurup on Jan 7.
Both Sabah-based parties were part of Barisan Nasional from 1994 until 2018.
Upko is currently a component party of Pakatan Harapan while PBRS remained in Barisan.
The two parties are now under the federal unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, where Ewon is the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister and Arthur is Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister.
Ewon, in a statement Monday (Jan 16), said the meeting in Putrajaya also touched on cooperation between both presidents in developing constituencies through their respective ministries.
“I will visit Pensiangan which is Arthur’s (parliamentary) constituency as Member of Parliament at the end of this month.
“The next month, he will visit Kadamaian, which is the state seat I am representing.
“We both hoped to inspire the unity and solidarity of Sabahans so the focus is more on developing the people and our region; not playing politics all the time.
“We hope this direction will receive the support from the people,” added Ewon.
