KOTA KINABALU, Oct 15 — All 25 Sabah Members of Parliament (MP) who will be elected in the coming 15th General Election (GE15) must have one collective voice and direction as far as protecting the state’s rights, interests and sovereignty in concerned said former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

Thus, Pairin said the GE15 will be very important and significant when it comes to the parliament session after the election, particularly in the context of Sabah's rights within the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

He said in order to approach that role in Parliament with one voice and direction, all MPs and parties in the state need to stand and deliver together as brothers and sisters.

"What this means is that the people's focus must be to emphasize and protect Sabah's rights and interest through the voices of the 25 seats, and 26 if you include Labuan, elected parliamentarians from Sabah in Parliament.

"We should emulate Sarawak and our leaders have been saying that they will work closely with Sarawak. That is indeed beautiful and well-said, let us then consider this unified approach seriously so that our thoughts can be turned into active and positive action producing the same shaped product,” he said in a statement here today.

Pairin who was the 7th Chief Minister in office from April 1985 to Mac 1994, also found Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) in March 1985 and remained it’s president until he retired in November 2016.

The Papar-born veteran leader is now Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) president, holding the title ‘Huguan Siou’ or Paramount Leader, in the community.

Pairin said the grassroots are saying that in this parliamentary elections there is a preference to elect local parties which are more destined to protect Sabah's rights and interests, rather than parties from outside which have other agendas and not focussed on protecting Sabah's rights and future.

"Towards this end, let us also be guided by voices from the grassroots. They say enough is enough. So who will make the decisions in this parliamentary election? of course, it is the rakyat. They are the voters and it would be their responsibility to decide properly,” he said.

He said voters, especially the younger generation, must have it in their minds to protect Sabah and its future, as well as the safety and development of the future generation.

"They must prefer and make up their mind to support and vote for candidates representing local political parties which clearly are geared, ready and prepared to fight for Sabah and its future and do not have any hidden agenda that may be a disadvantage to Sabah and its future generation,” he said.

Pairin said another very important guidance is to avoid the influence of monetary or material political baits, learning from the past experience the voters must be guided by their wisdom and common sense while thinking of theirs and Sabah’s future. — Bernama