National PR leaders took full advantage of the final day of the fortnight-long Chinese New Year celebrations to flag off its political campaign to get Sabah to lead in its struggle to take over the state as well as the central government.
Advisors of two Pakatan parties, Anwar Ibrahim of PKR and Lim Kit Siang of the DAP, both made passionate appeals to people in this east Malaysian state to get involved and work hard in this struggle.
Anwar called on Umno leaders in the country not to underestimate the wisdom of the people and said he believed that Sabah could take a lead for political change in order "to save the country".
Spoke to Hillary Clinton
Addressing a crowd that packed the Kian Kok School hall here Sunday, Anwar used several Mandarin expressions to illustrate his arguments on how things had gone wrong in Sabah in particular and Malaysia as a whole.
The opposition leader also quoted the well known saying of Abraham Lincoln of America about how people might be fooled some time but not all the time.
He told them that many foreign countries had expressed support towards his plight and political struggle, including Qatar, Turkey and Australia.
He also related his phone conversation with Hillary Clinton, US State Secretary, and claimed that she had told him, "Excellency Anwar, we are with you, we fight for justice."
The PKR advisor called on the Sabah people to make sure they "invest in this struggle for change".
He called on them to work doubly hard, saying that no power on earth could stop them if they so decide to change and replace the present government.
He gave examples of how deeply entrenched powers in other countries were overthrown, including the Shah of Iran.
Anwar said the people must discard the old style of politics that were based on factions, adding that freedom of expression, justice and the rule of law must prevail.
Anwar said this country is ruled by law and "this is what we want."
Kit Siang on Sabah's problems
Speaking at a press conference later, Anwar said: "If Sabahans take the lead to make the change, I am sure the Barisan Nasional is gone."
In his address, Lim Kit Siang made a passionate appeal to the crowd for support to start a struggle for change of government in the state and the country.
Lim said that during his visit with other DAP members to Kota Belud and Tuaran districts, he found that the state still lacks basic infrastructures.
He found that the hospital in Tuaran is operating without a single bed for patients for 30 years.
In Kota Belud, he discovered that 500 students and 50 teachers there had to walk eight kilometers on a dusty road to school everyday.
"People in Tawau celebrated Chinese New Year Eve in darkness (without electric power). Sandakan and Lahad Datu both have problems in basic infrastructures.
"We do not have such problems elsewhere – in Kuching, Miri, Sibu (in Sarawak) and in Peninsular Malaysia," he pointed out. Why, he asked.
"Sabah is entitled to know the answer. The state has become the worse and the poorest in Malaysia and we want an answer," he told them, and added that it was for this reason that "we want a change".
Lim told the crowd that the people themselves must be prepared to get involved.
"Are you prepared, to save Sabah and to save Malaysia?" he asked them.
He called on them to let the voice of Sabah be heard loud and clear not only in Malaysia but elsewhere in the world as well.
He said Pakatan Rakyat wants a new chief minister in Sabah and at the same time it wants a new prime minister in Malaysia in the person of Anwar Ibrahim.
Lim said that during his visit, his men had told him that they had worked hard and his advice to them was that they had to work even harder.
Top guns present
Although the event was meant to be a CNY celebration, it turned into a political rally, with Anwar the chief speaker being preceded by a number of fiery political speeches.
The first to step forward to work up the crowd was Dr Hiew King Cheu, the Sabah DAP chief and MP for Api-Api.
Hiew said the people had come from as far as Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Kota Belud to attend the celebration.
He said the event was a demonstration of the "Sabahan spirit" expressing the wish of the people for change.
Hishamuddin Sulaiman, from PAS who is chairman of Pakatan Rakyat Sabah, was the next to speak.
He hoped the people would join hands with the Pakatan in the next general elections, assist in bringing Anwar's message to the grassroots level and bring change to the people.
Yong Teck Lee, president of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), was among the notables who came to the open house as guests. He was accompanied by a strong delegation, including the party's State Assemblymen, Member of Parliament and other supreme council members.
Also present were Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, PKR vice-president and Ahmad Thamrin Jaini, Sabah PKR chairman.
news courtesy of Malaysian Mirror
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