Iranun tribe always have a place in BN - Salleh
KOTA BELUD, April 26 (Bernama) -- Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak today gave assurance to the Iranun tribe that they would always have a place in the Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) political administration system.
He said that there had been a formula to ensure that there would be a representative of the Iranun tribe in Kota Belud.
"I have introduced the 2:1:1 formula to ensure that Kota Belud parliamentary constituency will have two representatives from the Bajau tribe, one from Kadazandusun and one from Iranun. That is why when the Pintasan state seat was created under the review of electoral boundaries, we allocated the seat for the Iranun tribe.
"However, the recommendations for electoral boundary changes in Sabah could not be used in the GE14 as it did not get to be tabled in Parliament. So, as for now, there is no Pintasan seat, hence no Iranun representative to contest in the GE14," he said at a ceremony in which Kota Belud Warisan election director Asrin Sadi announced that he quit the party, here today.
Salleh said although the Pintasan state seat was not used in the GE14, it did not mean that the state constituency did not exist.
"The state constituency exists and only awaits the Parliament's approval...I will make sure that Iranun tribe will get a place in Sabah BN administration.
"I have discussed the matter with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak...he called me two days ago and agreed that there should be a representative from the Iranun tribe in BN political administration," he said.
Salleh said BN is the only political party that gives priority to all race and minority groups in the country.
"We always ensure that all races have their place. That is BN's principle. Being the majority does not mean that they will get everything...the minority groups deserve nothing less. No one will be marginalised in the country's political system led by the BN government," he said.
Commenting on Asrin's move to quit Warisan, Salleh, who is also Kota Belud UMNO division chief, said it proved that Warisan could not fulfilled the aspirations of the Iranun tribe.
"I know him (Asrin)...he has been fighting for the wellbeing of the Iranun tribe, but today he quit Warisan because he realised that only BN is capable of ensuring the wellbeing of the people in the country," he said.
Meanwhile, Asrin said he decided to quit Warisan after realising that the opposition party could not help the people in the state.
"That is why I decided to return to BN because I believe only BN can uplift the status of all races and tribes in its component parties," he said, adding that approximately 150 Warisan members, mostly from the Iranun tribe, would follow his step in quitting the party.
-- BERNAMA
