Thursday, January 22, 2009

THURSDAY-22 JANUARY 2009 - DON'T BE VERY OVERCONFIDENTS, RADIN TELLS KURUP


Don’t be overconfident, Radin tells Kurup

KOTA KINABALU:

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Secretary-General Datuk Radin Malleh has cautioned Deputy Federal Rural and Regional Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup not to be overconfident of winning if by-election were to be called for the Pensiangan parliamentary seat


“It seems that Tan Sri Kurup forgot that the constituency was never won by PBRS in the real sense of the word but was given free to it in the name of Barisan Nasional(BN) spirit,” he said yesterday.

Radin, who is Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, was responding to Kurup’s statement Tuesday that the voters are well prepared and already know who to vote for in the event of a by-election.

Kurup, whose uncontested victory in the last general election held in March 2008 was declared null and void by anElection Court, had chided PBS President Datuk Serf Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan who stated that the selection of the BN candidate should not be automatic.

In defending Pairin’s views, Radin contended that Kurup himself is the one who does not know how to read the political situation and the local sentiment in Pensiangan.

“The voters there want a candidate who is a local and preferably a Murut because a majority of the voters there are Murut,” he said.

According to Radin, the electorates had, stated that Kurup had failed to bring about any. Progress and development to the area.

“The voters are claiming that Kurup had been the Assemblyman for Sook since 1985 until 2008 except for the period between 1999 and 2004 and had been full a Minister, Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister in that period of time but still the area is lagging behind in terms of basic infrastructures, amenities and other developments,” he said.

As such, Radin reckoned that Kurup should make a soul searching for the sake of the future of the peo1c In Pensiangan as well as the fate of BN.

“Hence, Kurup should put the interest of the people in Pensiangan and BN before all else,” he added.