Takuron Bangad - Sabah Froggy Politics

Hantu Laut


Tukaron bangkad, in Dusunic language means "changing shirts".


In Sabah, when a politician do the froggy thing, hopped to another political party to continue fleecing the state to feed his insatiable greed for position, money and power, the polite kampong folks would say he is only "changing shirt"  as the old shirt has become soiled, old and tattered. Kampong people are simple folks and knew no better.They get cheated by sweet talking politicians.


This kind of politician would plead to his constituents that what he did are in the interest of his people and that the present government has failed to take care of the interests of his constituents, so he needs to "takuron bangad" to care for his constituents. 


Jefery Kitingan is one man who cares about Sabah and its people, long suppressed by those colonialist West Malaysians he said.He blamed the West Malaysians for everything wrong with Sabah. He and other Kadazan leaders raised the issues of illegal immigrants and NCR lands when it was those Kadazan leaders in PBS the biggest culprits in selling NCR lands to plantation giants from Peninsula Malaysia during PBS rule. Today most of these big plantations are owned by West Malaysian companies, a legacy left by PBS leaders. Most have joined BN for obvious reason, to continue the legacy of not Sabah for Sabahans but Sabah for themselves.


More often than not, poor Sabahans bought the story and found themselves getting poorer and poorer and these corrupt politicians getting richer and richer. They squandered millions of ill-gotten gains they acquired during their tenure and turned to becoming frogs when they have no more money and position.


This curse on Sabah and its people reverberated everytime the general elections comes around and greedy politicians that have exhausted the largesse in their party would look for excuse to jump ship. 


In the 2008 General Election I wrote this article for Asia Sentinel on Sabah. The elections' result came close to what I wrote, that the BN in Sabah would not lose its majority.


In recent days, two Sabah politicians have announced leaving the BN and courting the opposition without naming any party of choice. Leaving their option open, I suppose........for Najib to persuade them to stay, of course hoping for sweeteners from the Prime Minister. 


Lajim Ukin of UMNO and Wilfred Bamburing of UPKO have tendered their resignations from all party positions but have not resigned from the party for obvious reason.

The two, have in recent months, been critical of the government and party leadership and have upped the ante to rattle Prime Minister Najib, whom they deemed in a precarious position hoping that Najib would persuade them to stay thus giving them the bargaining chip.They are using their kampong cunningness of not resigning from the party first but threatened the party leadership. Lajim is still keeping his minister's position in BN, waiting to be sacked he said. Pigeon-hearted threat that will eventually force them to quit.


Their threats have not moved the seemingly weak Najib who refused to submit to political blackmail, particularly, from political lightweight the likes of Lajim and Bamburing whose grassroots, if any, are confined to the kampong they came from.


Rumours have been circulating that Anwar Ibrahim has offered Lajim the Sabah chief ministership if he joins PKR and if Pakatan win the elections.What he promised Bamburing we don't know yet.He will be attending Bamburing's function this Saturday. 


Anwar would also be breaking fast with Lajim on the same day. This is his last chance, his final fling to be "Malaysia's Next Prime Minister", so anything goes. The man have absolutely no principle. As the Malay idiom "Cakap tak serupa bikin" that's the real Anwar Ibrahim.


Does he care of his payola of corrupt UMNO politicians that he constantly attack, accusing them of massive corruptions.Isn't Lajim an UMNO man that come from the corrupt regime?


Lajim, was also rumored to be Shafie Apdal's man to destabilise Musa Aman. Shafie, aspiring to be Sabah next Chief Minister, reputedly, had given Lajim RM90 million project from his Ministry of Rural Development allocation.


Here, Lajim says his meeting with Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz was in his official capacity as Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister and not as a "frogger". How comes he never visited Nik Aziz before this.


It makes one wonder how Malaysians, particularly, Sabahans give their time of day to listen to the cock and bull stories of these good-for-nothing politicians who should have been sent to the rubbish bin of history long time ago.