Mositun shrugs off Angang’s outburst
KOTA KINABALU, 23 NOVEMBER 2018:
Rubbish and gibberish - was how PBS Pantai Manis division chief Datuk Johnny Mositun responded to UPKO Secretary General Nelson Angang’s recent statement defending their president.
“He (Nelson) didn’t even address the point I stressed on that the social media posting in question only listed out what netizens regarded as (UPKO President Datuk Seri Madius) Tangau’s ‘sins’ and actions were not in the people’s and state’s interests.
“I did not even touch on the contents, so what is this gibberish about condoning or me being naïve? And I don’t need Nelson to tell me the difference between criticism and slander. Criticism is just that, criticism. Whether it is slanderous criticism or not is another matter, but I made no comment about that. Nowhere in my statement did I delve into the veracity or otherwise of that posting,” Mositun said.
As an experienced politician, Mositun said Tangau did not been inclined to respond to the provocative social media posting initially.
“But against his better judgement to ignore, he was instigated to lodge a police report. So what, to most people is considered old news has now resurfaced as ‘headlines’ of sorts, with a new, imaginary twist designed to elicit sympathy.
“One wonders if this ‘clever’ move will do anything to improve Tangau’s reputation in the public eye. If he wants to take on the social media, that’s his business,” Mositun said.
He stressed that PBS was not questioning UPKO’s right to align itself with Warisan, DAP and PKR to form the state government, except for the fact that it was done in a treacherous and dishonorable way.
“The honourable thing for UPKO to do was would to declare its position before GE14, not after the election. Nelson must know that those who voted for Tangau and UPKO on the BN ticket in GE14 would naturally vent their feelings as posted on the social media..
“Tangau should have known. After all, during the GE14 campaign, he had openly accused (Prime Minister) Tun Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) of giving out citizenship/MyKad to “Pilak” (a term used to describe Filipino migrants) through the backdoor. Now he’s in the company of DAP, PKR and Warisan in the PH camp headed by Mahathir. What has he to say now?” Mositun asked.
Mositun , who had served two-terms as Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, said in his long political career he had come to know personally all of Sabah’s political leaders from different parties including Tangau, who had been a BN colleague for many years.
“Nelson should also not forget that as the then Secretary General of PBS, I was privy to everything that Tangau and UPKO leaders discussed with us as BN partners in the run-up to GE14. I am more than capable of making my own assessment on local political leaders, including Tangau,” Mositun concluded.