KOTA KINABALU: DAP Sabah said it is a joke for United Pasokmomugum Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO) to say that it is not Barisan Nasional’s way to table a motion in Parliament for an increase in oil royalty.
“What a way to kick start jokes for April Fools’ Day!” National DAPSY publicity secretary Junz Wong said yesterday.
He said that no wonder UPKO could not fulfill the people’s aspirations, or understand their struggles because they do not even know their main role as elected representatives.
“As an elected representative, your most important job is to speak up for the people in Dewan Rakyat and State Assembly where it really matters, not making publicity by making press statements in newspapers,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Junz was commenting on UPKO’s incoming president Datuk Wilfred Madius Tnagau’s statement that it was not Barisan Nasional’s way to table a motion in Parliament for an increase in oil royalty. Tangau was responding to DAP Sabah chairman Jimmy Wong’s call to elected representatives to table the motion.
Junz, who is Likas assemblyman, said if the BN’s way of struggling was to submit memorandum to its headquarters, then why must UPKO or other BN component parties contest in general election.
“If speaking up for the people in Dewan Rakyat is not UPKO’s way of fighting for the people, then don’t contest in coming election. There’s no need to anyway since you won’t table motion nor speak up in Dewan Rakyat.
“Just submit your memo/request will do,” he said.
Tangau said on Monday that tabling a motion in parliament is the opposition’s tactic and not the BN’s way.
He said UPKO will continue to pursue its request for an increase in the oil royalty paid to Sabah.
He reiterated that UPKO before the 13th General Election had submitted to the BN headquarters a request for a 20 per cent increase in the oil royalty.
“It is a struggle that we will continue to pursue and there is no need to go to parliament. When you go to parliament it is not necessarily will be done. We are fighting for the issue within the BN framework and we are quite sure that other BN component parties will support,” the Tuaran member of parliament said after taking over from his predecessor Tan Sri Bernard Dompok at the party’s headquarters here.