KOTA KINABALU: Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick is leaving it to the people to decide for themselves whether or not the party deceived them with its "Sabah First" slogan in the recently-concluded state polls.
"I leave it to you to interpret. My Sabah First (agenda) is to pursue the 40% (state revenue entitlement) and Sabah rights, but the state government is currently being formed.
"The wisdom (to pursue these matters) is with the Chief Minister," he told a press conference after an event in Penampang on Thursday (Dec 4).
"It is now a unity government, and we want to move forward.
"We can pursue the 40% entitlement within the unity government, but we must understand that the new state cabinet is mostly local party-based, with only two representatives from non-local parties," he added.
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Ewon, whose party won the state seats of Kadamaian, Tamparuli and Moyog in Saturday's (Nov 29) election, had previously pulled out of Pakatan Harapan to pursue state rights and contest the state elections on its own.
He had said that this was because he did not agree with Pakatan’s stand to appeal parts of a Kota Kinabalu High Court ruling on the 40% net revenue share, among other matters.
He also said that it was to send a strong signal to national parties that Sabahans can pursue their rights better on their own.
However, after the election results, Upko was among the earliest to arrive at Istana Negeri to pledge support for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) as it retained its mandate to form the state government.
This caused dissatisfaction among many Upko supporters as well as critics, who said Upko had "scammed" Sabahans.
Ewon, who was appointed Deputy Chief Minister III and state Industry, Entrepreneurship and Transport Minister on Monday (Dec 1), said this new government composition is better than the previous one.
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He said he is ready to work with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to achieve Upko's goals, especially the 40% net revenue entitlement.
He said that – having served in the federal Cabinet for three years before his resignation as entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister in tandem with Upko's Pakatan exit – he knew how Putrajaya worked and understood how this 40% issue was viewed.
Ewon felt that he would be able to continue fighting for state rights and the revenue share entitlement as part of the Sabah Cabinet.
Asked if he meant he would do whatever it takes to pursue these rights, he said this was the responsibility of every Sabahan and every Sabah leader.
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"It is in the state constitution. For the past three years, when I was in the Federal Government, I pursued that.
"Now I’m with the state government. I will continue to pursue (these matters) as they should and must be the responsibility of all Sabahans, all Sabahan leaders.
"So I will work with and help the CM to achieve that 40% share. Let the rakyat judge my leadership after five years," he said.
