Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri president Datuk Henrynus Amin claimed that a small group of powerful Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) leaders conspired to sabotage the Tataba initiative to unite and merge the party with Upko and PBRS prior to GE13.

He said the initiative which was originally intended to strengthen the Momogun抯 voice within Barisan Nasional fell through as a result of the conspiracy by these PBS leaders with deep hatred and distrust of Upko and PBRS.

According to him, the Tataba unity project, of which he was the Sabah chief coordinator, was a CSR project privately funded by a certain public listed company obtained through his personal connection with a certain individual then as PBS secretary general.

He said the Tataba CSR unity project was implemented in 2012 with the close cooperation of the then secretary general of Upko and the current secretary general of PBRS, as part of confidence building measures to promote PBS-Upko-PBRS unity and close cooperation and possibly leading to future merger within the BN framework.

揑n fact, the then secretary generals of PBS, Upko and PBRS, all Momogun based political parties in BN prior to GE13, often met for coffee or 慿upi-kupi? to discuss their common challenges, especially on the issue of Momogun unity, and it was during such informal meeting that the Tataba unity initiative was conceived.

揥e divided the task of implementing the Tataba CSR Unity Project among ourselves, whereby PBS was in charge of the distribution of high yielding timber clone rubber seedlings to Momogun families, Upko was assigned to distribute church assistance and PBRS the Tataba Unity sports carnivals,? Henrynus disclosed.

The Tataba merger initiative, he said, culminated in the meeting of the presidents of the 3 Momogun based political parties during the launching of the church assistance attended by the Council of Churches and later during the Tataba Unity Gathering at Hongkod Koisaan (KDCA Building) in 2013, attended by 5,000 people where the presidents of the 3 Momogun based political parties reiterated their commitment to close cooperation and to work towards Momogun unity.

揊or the record, then Upko president Tan Sri Bernard G Dompok was open to the idea of a merger and was willing to discuss without pre-conditions. Even PBRS president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup was interested with the idea on condition there was sincerity,? Henrynus said.

揃ut top political leaders in PBS poured cold water on the Tataba initiative due to their deep distrust and even hatred of Upko and PBRS leaders,? he claimed.

揟his group of selfish PBS leaders insisted on Upko and PBRS to first disband before their members were allowed to rejoin PBS.

揑 remember as early as 2002 when Dompok volunteered to disband Upko to allow for Upko and PBS merger to establish Momogun power block within BN, a group of PBS leaders put up ludicrous and unreasonable conditions to sabotage the unity efforts even though then PBS president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan had initially approved the unity plan,? Henrynus claimed.

揑 know because I initiated the move to merge PBS and Upko and sought Pairin’s blessing based on credible information given to me by a Momogun corporate leader close to Dompok,? he said.

According to Henrynus, after GE13, PBS, Upko and PBRS lost interest in the Tataba unity initiative.

He said PBS’ worst performance in GE13 confirmed his worst fears that PBS was indeed moving in the wrong direction against the popular will of their own supporters.

After GE13, the Tataba CSR initiative continued but this time the implementation was coordinated through certain church leaders affiliated with the council of churches and was deemed apolitical, he said.

Henrynus, meanwhile, regretted Datuk Johnny Mositun抯 allegation of pecuniary gain in the supply of Tataba assistance, which he described as slander and a malicious allegation to be looked into by his legal advisers.

揑 am demanding Mositun to retract and apologize for his slander or to prove that I benefited even one cent from the purchase of materials for Tataba CSR unity project. I am not amused by Mositun抯 malicious allegations and it is within my rights to seek legal recourse,? Henrynus stressed without mincing his words.

For the record, he said, it was by the grace of God that Tataba managed to secure more than RM10 million worth of CSR allocation from a donor with the blessings of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

He said PBS or Mositun will regret his scornful attack against the Tataba CSR program since more than 50,000 families in 20 Momogun majority State Seats were beneficiaries of 700,000 high yielding timber clone rubber seedlings as a source of buds for producing more rubber seedlings.

He said more than 1,500 rural churches of all denominations received church assistance in the form of church repairs and equipment, such as cement, bricks, iron bars, plywood, pipes, zinc roof, loud speakers, keyboards, LCD projectors, grass cutters, chainsaws, guitars, etc.

He said Tataba sponsored the training of pre-school teachers at diploma levels and assisted more than 200 pre-schools in terms of building materials and supply of books or teaching materials.

He said Tataba funding has since stopped in 2014 and the entire expenses were fully accounted for through a comprehensive report written by the company assigned by the Tataba CSR donor to implement their CSR project.

揑 am fully aware of Mositun抯 attempt to belittle the significance of my role as the then secretary general, but I will let history judge my work,? said Henrynus.

揗y little contribution to PBS since 1987 as PBS member, PBS Youth secretary, PBS divisional chief for Ranau, PBS information chief for six years and as PBS secretary general for four years may not amount to much but I take pride in the fact that I held on to my principles rather than serve in a political party that no longer serves the purpose for which it was formed in 1985,? Henrynus said in a statement.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by THE BORNEO POST

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