The foray into Perak by United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation or Upko could have far-reaching implications for both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional component parties, writes SANTHA OORJITHAM

(From left) Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau, Khaw Veon Szu and Dr Mavis Puthucheary

WHEN Tan Sri Bernard Dompok launched four divisions of the United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation in Perak earlier this month, few eyebrows were raised.

Neither Barisan Nasional nor Pakatan Rakyat leaders in East Malaysia or the peninsula commented in public.

Yet it was the first report of a Sabah BN component opening branches in the peninsula although, says Khaw Veon Szu, executive director of Gerakan's Sedar Institute, "we had been told Upko had been unofficially operating here for awhile".

If the move into the peninsula increases support for Upko, it could have bigger implications for other parties in both BN and PR.

Dompok said the Perak divisions had 2,000 Orang Asli members who seemed to shy away from other BN parties but appear to have an affinity with Upko. The Sabah-based party was not pinching members from other BN components, he stressed, and was not expecting to be given seats to contest in the elections.

Upko had begun recruiting members in Selangor and Johor in 2007. Those in Selangor are Sabahans, says secretary-general Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau, while those in Johor are Sabahans and Sarawakians working in Johor Baru and Singapore.

Selangor may also have Orang Asli members in the future. Their leaders attended the Perak launch. And the party may also move into Pahang.

"Perak was our launching pad," Tangau claims. The four divisions will table a resolution at the party's November convention in Kota Kinabalu, bringing up issues affecting the Orang Asli -- especially relating to land and development.

"And for the first time, we will not be singing the Sabah state anthem," he says. Since it will now be a national convention, delegates will sing the Negaraku, the BN and Upko anthems, "accepting our position as a national party".

East Malaysia has been a BN bastion for years. Sarawak has delivered the votes since the 1960s. Sabah has been a BN fortress since the late Tun Mustapha Harun disbanded the United Sabah National Organisation in 1990 and led his supporters into the new Sabah Umno.

In the 1980s, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) did look West. "Soon after the 1985 Sabah state elections, some in Gerakan wanted PBS to open branches in the peninsula," recalls Datuk Dominic Puthucheary, former Gerakan vice-president and member of parliament. "Both agreed to work together as non-racial parties with a possible merger."

He also suggested that they form a non-racial bloc within the BN and drafted a constitution to enable it. But none of this bore fruit, he says.

"Every time anyone wants to rise above the racial divide, the established race-based parties shoot it down."

PBS tried to expand its base again in 1995 when it was out of the BN, fielding 12 candidates for parliamentary and state seats in Sarawak, Penang, Johor and Kedah. They all lost.

"They tried to present themselves as an East Malaysian version of Gerakan," says Wong Chin Huat, a lecturer at Monash University Malaysia, but it was "last minute and ad hoc".

Upko's latest move is significant, however, says the expert on electoral systems.

"The message they are sending to Sabah and Sarawak is, 'We dare to stand up for native rights, especially in land.'"

Orang Asli in the peninsula are not "rewarding" in terms of elections because there are no Orang Asli seats, says Wong.

"Electorally, they carry very little weight except in Gua Musang, where they are hardcore supporters of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah."

And the Peninsular Orang Asli are "divided and dispersed", adds political scientist Dr Mavis Puthucheary. "They are not necessarily going to support Upko. Some are with Umno and others are not politically active."

But if Upko claims it is fighting for indigenous people, she says, that could win it support.

"Our focus remains issues affecting all indigenous people, irrespective of religion," says Tangau, adding that the party does not just comprise non-Muslim Bumiputera but also "a substantial number" of Muslim members in Sabah and among the new divisions in Perak.

There is a high incidence of poverty among East Malaysians and Orang Asli, says Wong.

Osman Bungsu, senator for the Orang Asli community, said recently that 50 per cent of the 141,230 Orang Asli still live below the poverty line. The Kadazandusun have the highest concentration of households earning less than RM1,000 a month -- 29,300 or about four per cent of the country's population.

"If they expand further, Upko could be another nationwide Bumiputera party," reckons Wong. "They may see themselves as uniters."

And if its latest move is successful, other Sabah parties might take note.

"If there is demand here they might come," says Sedar's Khaw. "There is freedom of movement and association."

Umno Sabah recently strengthened its position at the national level, with 10 representatives elected to top posts during the party polls in March.

Although Parti Keadilan Rakyat is wooing the Dayak vote and promising a Dayak chief minister if Pakatan wins the Sarawak state elections, their BN counterparts cannot follow suit.

"BN peninsula parties have an understanding not to open in Sarawak," Khaw says. "There is no sign of a change of policy."

"We have very close relations with Sarawak leaders," says Tangau. "We do not intend to duplicate their work. Not for now."

But the Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry, whose birth Upko "encouraged, facilitated and supported", is working closely with the Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he says.

At the federal level, Upko's move is welcome, says Khaw. "It's a form of integration, becoming a national party with more national presence and credentials, with a tone and policy which are not as narrow-minded and regional, although they are still ethnic-based."

Above all, he says, "It gives people more choice."

Written by SANTHA OORJITHAM

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/16upko/Article

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