Sabah May Lose Leverage If Federal Aligned Leaders Win Ewon Says

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Upko president Ewon Benedick is concerned that Sabah could lose leverage if voters install local leaders from national parties who, he said, depend on “a party president across the sea”.
The Penampang MP said a state government aligned to parties headquartered in Peninsular Malaysia may face conflicting instructions when negotiating Sabah’s 40 percent revenue entitlement with Putrajaya.
Ewon, who recently resigned from the federal cabinet over his dissatisfaction towards Putrajaya’s selective appeal of the High Court ruling on Sabah’s 40 percent revenue entitlement, had also brought Upko out of Pakatan Harapan.
“Imagine if the Sabah government had parties that are not local. When they negotiate the 40 percent issue, whose instruction will they follow? The direction of their party president ‘across the sea’, or the constitutional rights of Sabahans?
ADS“Sabahans will lose because what we are supposed to get will be delayed,” he said during his speech at the People’s Convention and Sabah First Tour in Penampang yesterday.
He added that this is not a hypothetical risk but how decision-making functions within national coalitions.
Prime Minister and Pakatan Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim visiting Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Nov 9“If ministers and deputy chief ministers must refer to their presidents across the sea, Sabah will lose. What belongs to us will continue to be postponed,” he said, referring to national party leaders who would be appointed to form part of the state government should they win the Sabah polls.
Sabah will head to the polls on Nov 29, with nomination day tomorrow.
‘AGC submissions accelerated my resignation’
Ewon was referring to the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruling delivered on Oct 17, which directed the federal government and the Sabah government to resolve the state’s 40 percent revenue entitlement within 180 days.
On that note, the Kadamaian assemblyperson said he left the federal cabinet after reviewing the court’s written judgment and the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ (AGC) submissions.
According to him, the AGC was inconsistent with the guarantees given to Sabah under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar“I cannot be part of a cabinet where the principle we are fighting for, the 40 percent that Sabah is owed, is not given the attention it deserves.
“The attorney-general’s position in the court process made it clear to me.
“That is why I accelerated my resignation, so the message is clear. Do not delay. Do not divert. Just implement the 40 percent for Sabah,” Ewon said, urging Sabahans to read the court judgment to understand the matter.
“The 40 percent is already our right. It should not even need an appeal. What is needed is implementation,” he stressed.
ADSHe also noted the distinction between the federal commitment to developing Sabah and Sabah’s 40 percent revenue entitlement stipulated in the Federal Constitution.
‘Only Sabah parties understand’
The former minister then raised broader questions about political accountability and whether Sabahans want their future determined by leaders whose mandate lies in the state, or those whose political hierarchy extends to Kuala Lumpur.
“Only Sabah parties understand the needs, the dreams, and the future of the Sabah people. We cannot keep being trapped by spins and diversions (by these leaders),” he said.
Ewon added that his party will only work with those who have the state’s priority in mind, saying it will contest no less than 20 seats.
“Upko will work with parties that subscribe to the ‘Sabah First’ vision and agenda,” he noted.
Referring to the viral Gaya Street encounter where a young Sabahan asked the prime minister about the 40 percent payment, Ewon said public sentiment has moved decisively.
He added that Upko will contest the state election with a new logo and a renewed focus on state rights, the 40 percent entitlement, and institutional reforms envisioned under MA63. - Mkini

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