KOTA KINABALU: UPKO president, Datuk Ewon Benedick appears to be on the right track to restore the party to its former glory.
In what is seen as a turning point, the 40-year-old charismatic leader succeeded in reviving the dormant Putatan UPKO division.
“We are reactivating the Putatan UPKO Division, which is again spearheaded by its former leader, Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh, with a membership of 2,100 people so far.
“This shows that after the transition of leadership in the party, new members either joined UPKO having never belonged to any party before or were party members and leaders,” he said.
Ewon said this after launching the Putatan UPKO division at the Kampung Duvanson Putatan Community Hall, on Saturday.
The Former Putatan MP, Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh, is now leading the leadership of the Putatan UPKO division.
For the record, in early 2020, Mojiguh, who was then Putatan UPKO Chief, left the party before joining the Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) party in 2021.
Ewon described the “return” of the Putatan division party leader to UPKO as timely and should be supported by all.
“We are reactivating the Putatan UPKO Division, which is again led by its former leader,” he said.
Ewon, who is also the Kadamaian assemblyman and the MP for Penampang, stated that he will soon be present at the welcoming ceremonies for new and former UPKO members in Keningau as well as other locations in Sabah.
“I see this as a way to help the party and the Unity Government so that they can participate in the administration of the government by sharing their opinions and criticisms with me. I can then use those opinions and criticisms to contribute to discussions in the cabinet, party leadership, Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership, or unity secretariat,” he added.
“In the UPKO National Convention last September, I invited former leaders and party members to return to this party, as well as new members. I asked existing members not to label former leaders and party members who left but instead welcome their rejoining.
“I am happy that this was well received in Putatan today, which saw the return of Datuk Marcus and the reactivation of this division, which is mostly led by professionals and former senior civil service officers,” he said.
