Only the best for polls, says Jeffrey

Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat will only put up candidates who possess leadership quality and willing to provide the best services to the people.

Its Sabah deputy chief, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, said the party would not be in a haste to nominate candidates although many had offered themselves to contest in the coming election.

"Of course many are interested and offering themselves to stand on a Keadilan ticket but we will study first their backgrounds, especially their willingness to serve the people," he said when asked to comment on the response from political leaders in Sabah, including those from the ruling party, on this issue, here, Wednesday.

According to Dr Jeffrey, it was a positive development but he reiterated that Keadilan would only nominate the best.

"We don't want to repeat problems that we see today where elected representatives are giving more priority to their personal interest and do not produce new ideas," he claimed.

Dr Jeffrey also urged the BN leadership to be consistent and more specific when commenting on the date of election.

"If you say you are ready why not just hold it straight away?" he asked.

People's Commission of Inquiry to tackle issue of illegals

New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU : Parti Keadilan Rakyat Sabah (PKRS) wants to set up what is dubbed “The People’s Commission of Inquiry” to resolve the perrennial illegal immigrants issue plaguing the state.

Its deputy chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan announced this when officiating at KK division’s 2006 Annual General Meeting (AGM) here on Tuesday.

He said the plan was essentially prompted by the failure to resolve this perennial issue which has existed for many decades.

Dr Jeffrey also said the long standing issue needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

He said the fear of the presence of too many illegals was a legitimate one citing the present number of foreigners in the state which is estimated to surpass one million.

Sabah has a population of 3.3 million.

He added that a majority of these illegals were known to possess voting rights as they possessed Malaysia identity cards obtained through dubious means.

“Hence, there’s always a danger of some of these foreigners being elected to become the leaders of Sabah one day.

“We need to resolve this issue urgently before it is too late,” he stressed.

Dr Jeffrey who is also a younger brother of the PBS President-cum-Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Pairin Kitingan also noted Keadilan was determined to introduce a truly multiracial political system and culture that it thought would be more beneficial to the country in the long run.

Meanwhile he urged the people of Sabah to vote wisely in the coming election as to improve the present situation and for the sake of the future generations. MICHAEL TEH