"Jabu and Iban Powerless in PBB" - One day I will handover my position to my deputy (Jabu)....Taib Mahmud remarks during Ming Court Crisis!
BETONG, Oct 5 2009
Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said he would leave it to Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) to decide whether he should retain his post of president at the next party general assembly.
Taib, 73, said as one who was loyal to the party, he could not make the decision himself as the party’s struggle was his priority.
“I have stated openly that I could step down (as PBB president) anytime, but the party asked me to wait first, so I’ve left it to the party to decide,” he said when simultaneously opening the meetings of the PBB branches at the Datuk Amar Tan Sri Stephen Kalong Ningkan’s Sports Hall, here, today.
Taib, who is also state Finance Minister and Planning and Resource Management Minister, said the Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) had always made leadership transformation and this was proven by the fielding of 25 per cent new faces as candidates in each state election.
He said the smooth transformation in PBB and that in the other state BN component parties in the spirit of unity, and where the elders were willing to make way for younger leaders, had been the foundation for BN’s strength in Sarawak.
Taib, who is also Balingian assemblyman, said PBB as the backbone of Sarawak BN had its own style and distinctive politics to continue serving the people and developing the state.
He said Sarawak did not need to change its government for transformation as what happened in some states in the peninsula, as its development policies had always been in tandem with national development needs.
Taib said since BN had been governing the state, it had brought about much change not only in the urban areas but the rural and remote areas as well.
“Sarawak has its own ways. Changing the government for transformation is not our style, as a government change may not bring much good but a lot of problems instead, as can be seen in some of the opposition-controlled states in the peninsula.”
Taib said besides economic development through the creation of the Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy (SCORE), focus was also given to capacity-building by producing more skilled manpower through educational development.
Meanwhile at the same function, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, who is also PBB deputy president, said the party members gave their full support to Taib to continue leading the party.
He said the 71 PBB branches in Sarawak would also continue to support the politics of development mooted by Taib.
The support did not only come from PBB, but all the other Sarawak BN component parties, namely Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), he added. — Bernama
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