KOTA KINABALU: Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan says he was expressing local sentiments when he labelled Peninsula-based parties as colonisers.
The Deputy Chief Minister I said that this is a known sentiment and a persistent issue for Sabah.
"We need to resolve it. It's very simple, 'rumah kita, kita jaga' (we look after our own home). That's all," he said.
Kitingan was responding to Sabah PKR's statement accusing him of insensitivity for comparing peninsula-based parties to colonisers and calling their leaders traitors.
Sabah PKR's state leadership council (MPN) secretary Sazalye Donol suggested Kitingan leave the unity government coalition if he cannot work with member parties.
Sabah STAR is part of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Kitingan said Sabah cannot care for itself if it cannot express its thoughts.
He added leaders from Peninsula-based parties are "on the other side of the coin", and this is why issues like state rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) remain unresolved.
"We want to be independent and want it implemented, but they do not want to do it because they want to control us, they want to exploit us. It is as simple as that," he said.
Kitingan questioned why Sabah should allow this to continue, stating that if Peninsula-based parties lead the state, it is a form of colonisation.
"We are supposed to be independent. They have to understand that the rakyat wants to manage themselves," he said.
He also said he understands how people in PKR work, as he was once part of the party, which influenced his decision to leave.
"These people who are there, of course, they say 'we are not'. But they are," Kitingan concluded.
