The people of Sabah need practical solutions and recommendations: Ewon

11 December 2023

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KOTA KINABALU: President of the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO), Datuk Ewon Benedick, said that major issues concerning the interests of the people of Sabah require practical solutions and recommendations, not just criticisms.

In this regard, he praised the efforts of the UPKO Youth Movement, which successfully organised the Youth Retreat "Youth as Catalysts of People's Aspirations" to discuss the people's issues.

"This retreat is important for 'embracing' major issues. In addition to being known as a firm and principled party, UPKO must also be seen as capable of offering solutions to many matters.

"Our party is also known for its firmness, and that firmness must have its place and must yield results and impacts.

"Therefore, I see the firmness demonstrated by the members of the Youth Movement. I sincerely hope that this spirit will continue not only until the 17th state election (PRN-17) but as long as our party exists, this spirit needs to be nurtured, preserved, and passed down to other youths," he said.

He said this when delivering a speech to inaugurate the UPKO Youth Retreat 2023, which was attended by representatives from the Youth Division of all UPKO regions in Sabah, at the Tang Dynasty Hotel last Saturday.

Ewon, who is also the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, said that among the agenda of the two-day retreat was to discuss issues including strengthening the party's direction - Strategy and Action Plan for Facing PRN-17, the cost of living in the new millennium economy, and the demands of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) - redelineation of parliamentary constituencies.

"These issues are undoubtedly significant and require solutions. Therefore, I believe that after two days, the Youth will be able to offer something to the Supreme Council Members and the President to be used as input in the negotiation table at the cabinet level, involving the government or other party comrades," he said.

In terms of the increasing cost of living for the people, Ewon said that it would be better for party members to help find solutions to overcome the problem rather than just expressing dissatisfaction and blaming the government.

"In Sabah, there are eight districts categorised as poor due to their high e-Kasih registration. In the e-Kasih list, land assets are not taken into account to determine whether a household is included in e-Kasih or not.

"So I have suggested, why not implement a long-term development program for the e-Kasih list that has land assets that can be utilized.

"While we criticize or provide critical views on government-related food supplies in the country, UPKO, through its Youth Movement, Women's Movement, or Youth Generation, must be able to offer solutions, such as establishing cooperatives," he said.

Ewon said that many people tend to criticize an issue, but there are fewer who propose practical recommendations to address the problem.

"These proposed solutions should be the new face of UPKO. Therefore, every time we discuss a particular matter, our party must strive to offer solutions so that the people see that this party has a place for them," he said.

Regarding the 40 percent demand, Ewon said that the UPKO Youth must be part of the solution.

"Believe me, if UPKO can provide practical solutions to long-standing issues that have been delayed for almost 60 years, the people of Sabah will appreciate and remember it forever," he said.