Sabahan must reject extremist parties, racist leaders: UPKO Youth

30 August 2022

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KOTA KINABALU: United Kinabalu Progressive Organisation (UPKO) Youth chief Felix Joseph Saang said that PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang’s recent racist statement could cause tension and friction among the communities in the country.

He opined that a veteran should not issue such statements as it shows Abdul Hadi’s immaturity as a leader.

“As a government leader, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang should not have made such baseless accusations.

“His statement is slanderous and offensive towards the non-Muslim and non-Bumiputra communities because corruption has nothing to do with race or religion.

"In the National Anti-Corruption Plan Report (NACP) 2019-2023, it was revealed that the causes of corruption are lack of support, lack of awareness, bureaucracy, lack of early detection, lack of prevention, and weak enforcement; and not by non-Muslim or non-Bumiputera individuals. It has nothing to do with being non-Muslim or non-bumiputra," Felix said in a statement here today.

He was commenting on Abdul Hadi’s recent statement where the latter claimed that non-Bumiputras and non-Muslims were responsible for most of the country’s corruption and that they have destroyed the country’s politics and economy.

During a recent convention, Abdul Hadi was quoted saying that the country has reached a point where “these people” (non-Muslims and non-Bumiputras) have controlled the economy and have used their money to pollute the nation’s politics, administration, and judiciary.

Felix had also commended Sarawak Deputy Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Datuk Liwan Lagang’s call to ban the PAS president from entering Sarawak.

“This kind of extremist politics along with any parties associated with it must be rejected. There is no room for this kind of politics in Sabah.

“What is the stand of our local party leaders in the state government, especially GRS, on this issue?” asked Felix.

In this regard, Felix hopes that the authorities will take appropriate action against Abdul Hadi for his misleading statement.