UPKO president Datuk Ewon Benedick (centre) together with members of the party’s supreme council announced their decision to withdraw from the Pakatan Harapan coalition. — ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star
KOTA KINABALU: Upko has exited the Sabah Pakatan Harapan coalition five days ahead of the state election nomination day, expressing a willingness to work with Sabah-based local parties.
Upko secretary-general Datuk Nelson Angang said the immediate withdrawal from Pakatan stemmed from simmering disappointment over the national coalition’s implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the state’s 40% revenue entitlement.
The decision to leave Pakatan Harapan was made by the party’s supreme council on Monday (Nov 10).
Angang said Upko is now ready to cooperate with local Sabah parties that wish to jointly champion the “Sabah First” agenda which includes pursuing the state’s 40% revenue entitlement under the implementation of MA63.
“Upko also believes that good relations between the federal government and the Sabah government must be achieved, but they must be based on the spirit, purpose, essence, and implementation of MA63,” Angang said in a statement.
He said the decision was made after considering its participation in Pakatan over the past four years and also the call by Sabahans for local parties to unite in the coming election.
“The Special Meeting of the Upko supreme council has decided to withdraw from Pakatan with immediate effect. This decision will be officially conveyed to the Pakatan chairman and its component parties,” he said.
Upko’s withdrawal came just hours after party president Datuk Ewon Benedick submitted his official resignation as Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister to the Prime Minister.
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The supreme council also endorsed Benedick’s decision to quit, as he disagreed with the stance and views of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) throughout the judicial review proceedings related to Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement filed by the Sabah Law Society.
Angang said that during the four years with Pakatan, Upko consistently placed the Sabah First agenda at the centre of negotiations concerning Pakatan’s election manifesto and discussions within the administration of the unity government led by Pakatan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
However, he said differences in interpretation, views, and positions emerged between Upko and Pakatan component parties at the national level regarding the implementation of Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement, the demand for one-third of parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak, and the failure to implement administrative autonomy for Sabah Pakatan.
Angang added that the chairmanship of Sabah Pakatan was decided through the Sabah Pakatan general assembly, which voted for Benedick as state chairman, but the decision was never accepted or resolved by the Pakatan presidential council following objections from Sabah PKR.
“Upko even faced open criticism despite the decision being made through an election conducted by administrators from the Pakatan headquarters.
“Subsequently, the Upko president was only appointed as a ‘coordinator’, while decisions related to election preparations within Pakatan were made by PKR without genuine autonomy for Sabah Pakatan, contradicting earlier announcements,” Angang said.
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He added that Upko has since reassessed its struggle and concluded that “only local Sabah parties truly understand the heartbeat, spirit, vision, and future aspirations of Sabah” based on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and Sabah’s rights under the Federal Constitution, particularly the 40% entitlement.
He stressed that Upko firmly holds the view that Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement is separate from the responsibilities of the federal government under the Federal List.
“Both Upko MPs, Datuk Ewon Benedick and Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, will continue to uphold the decree of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that the stability of the Federal Government must be maintained until the end of this term,” Angang said in the statement.
