A complicated matter, says Jeffrey

Source : Daily Express 12/05/2010

Kota Kinabalu: The Government is now in a tight corner from which it must answer all the hard questions raised by SAPP on the petroleum blocks issue, claims Chairman of Common Interest Group, Malaysia, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.

He said SAPP had made a highly detailed and strong, multi-pronged presentation on the issue of Block L and M.

"It is no longer a simple matter of technicalities as Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh claimed. It is obviously a complicated matter, now that the cat has got out of the bag,"

The government should open the matter to the public by telling the whole truth and also decide whether it wants to pursue our state rights, he said in a statement, Tuesday.

"If the government insists on dilly-dallying in its answers, and denying that something serious had happened, it will continue to cause more confusion among the people."

"If the former Prime Minister is really concerned about our national interests he would realise that it is not just a matter of territorial sovereignty or oil alone. There are also nagging questions such as why was such an important deal involving national interests rushed through," said Jeffrey.

"Was a third party involved? And why is the State Government not showing any concern on the matter?" he asked.

"And what about the state leaders in the Federal Cabinet?

What is their stand on the matter? I hope that Mojigoh's attitude doesn't reflect the overall stand of our Members of Parliament," he said.