SANDAKAN: The Libaran UPKO has embraced the demands made by its president, Datuk Ewon Benedick for the party to win many state seats in the next election (PRN).
Towards this end, Libaran UPKO Division Chief Dr. Peter Jr. Naintin said efforts are underway to strengthen the party in every division in the state.
Aside from that, each division will implement the UPKO Information and Research Bureau’s planned programmes in accordance with planning and appropriateness, he said.
The Information Bureau tour has been successfully organised in the Bengkoka and Kuamut areas.
The initial tour to the grassroots has already started on the West Coast of Sabah, especially in Pitas, Kota Marudu, Limbahau, Membakut, Kimanis, and Labuan.
Ever since the UPKO was founded, it has created a great deal of room and opportunity for Sabahans to participate in the political arena, particularly for the youth who wish to work together to defend and protect the Malaysian Agreement (MA63), Peter said in a statement today.
UPKO has its own history and has proven to have produced several local political leaders who succeeded in bringing about significant and positive changes in Sabah and Malaysia as a whole.
Initially, UPKO was established in 1964 to take part in the first Sabah State General Election in April 1967.
Tun Fuad Stephen, the first and fifth former Chief Minister of Sabah, was the main leader of UPKO at the time.
For the sake of the unity of all Bumiputera at that time, UPKO was disbanded in December 1967. However, UPKO was revived in October 1999 under the leadership of Tan Sri Bernard G. Dompok, the former 11th Chief Minister of Sabah.
In June 2020, UPKO was rebranded as a multi-racial party led by Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau.
UPKO becomes more inclusive for all, especially on the East Coast of Sabah.
“This was evident when UPKO Libaran received many new members from various ethnicities in Sabah, such as Sungai, Tidung, Bajau, Bugis, Kagayan, Kadazan, Dusun, and Chinese.
“This shows that the people of Sabah need a political party that has a history of real struggle for MA63 and grooms young generation leaders who can lead the people’s struggle in Sabah,” he added.
Peter claims that Ewon reaffirmed for UPKO the need to protect and draw inspiration and motivation from the party’s victory in the Kadamaian state constituency.
He said UPKO will fight to win more seats while the number of seats to be contested “will be determined soon”
UPKO has formed several bureaus that will focus on carrying out a comprehensive study and propose areas that will be contested in the run-up to the Sabah PRN.
This includes the Political Bureau led by Ewon, the Bureau of Elections and Political Education chaired by Datuk Wong Thien Fook, Vice President of UPKO, and the Information and Research Bureau led by Dr. Peter Jr. Naintin, UPKO Information Chief.
Peter said Ewon also made it clear that the number of seats to be contested should not be based solely on the desire to compete but on a strong leadership base in the area.
“I am confident that one day UPKO will have representatives of the people in every district who will be focused, brave, and sincere in continuing the people’s struggle in the state.
“All this will happen when our young generation begins to realise that they are the ones who can actually decide the time for a better future for Sabah.
“With more progressive cooperation between our young leaders and our experienced veterans, I believe UPKO’s leadership will be able to deliver the goods for the people of Sabah,” said Peter.
