PBS Will Not Act On DAP's Behalf Over Native Status

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- DAP should initiate legal action or bring up the matter to the relevant department if indeed one of its leaders feels aggrieved by the controversy over his native status, says Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) secretary-general Datuk Henrynus Amin.

He said PBS was amused by DAP's desperate plea for its assistance to get the revocation of Sri Tanjung assemblyman Jimmy Wong's native status withdrawn in the Kota Kinabalu Native Court.

He said the request was totally absurd as it was a matter for the court to decide without political interference.

"If indeed the DAP leader is not capable of acting for himself, and no one in his party can help him, then PBS is glad to assist him or show him the way to the Native Affairs Department to get his native status verified," he said in a statement, here, Tuesday.

Henrynus said PBS sympathised with the issue of genuine Sino-native individuals being denied of their rights as natives, but the party had no intention to act on behalf of DAP to direct or influence the Kota Kinabalu Native Court to revoke Wong's native status.

"No one is accusing the DAP leader or implying anything, but the onus is on him to act for himself, not PBS."

He said if indeed Wong had the necessary supporting documents such as birth certificate, he had nothing to worry about as he needed not go through the tedious process of verification.

Henrynus said the DAP leader could get the result from the Native Affairs Department in a matter of days, not weeks, but only if he could visit the department with his supporting documents just like everyone else who are Sino- native.

"PBS regrets DAP's antic of dragging PBS and certain NGOs to plead for his case, and for that matter, blaming PBS squarely for his personal problem," he said.

Meanwhile, PBS reiterated its support for any government decision to lift the ban on the issuance of native certificates to genuine applicants, subject to the fact that fraudulent ones must be identified and revoked.

Henrynus said PBS would certainly discuss and deliberate on the issue of lifting the freeze on native certificates at the party level and was confident in the wisdom of the chief minister as the state BN chairman to bring about consensus within the BN coalition

On DAP's criticism that PBS did not bother to lift the freeze during the party's nine-year rule, Henrynus said he was not aware of the issue being raised by DAP until recently when its party chief was facing a personal problem.

He said DAP's desperate plea and relentless attack on PBS over the issue of Wong's native certificate merely reinforced public opinion that DAP was actually fighting for their leader, not for the people of Sabah.