I ask - what is the nickname of Penang? I bet nine out of ten can answer me the Pearl of the Orient precisely. But what if I ask - what is the nickname of Sabah? I am definite that only one or two out of ten can answer me correctly. Sabah is proudly given the nickname of the Land below the Wind.
Despite being a state full of rich natural resources, Sabah is now the poorest state amongst the thirteen states in the Ninth Malaysia Plan. Sabah is now far behind Kelantan and Terengganu in the Incidence of Poverty where it reads 23.0, 10.6 and 15.4 respectively. How could this happen in spite of the bless of various natural resources? Sabah should be topping the charts or at least has hardcore poverty eradicated. The cries of Sabahans have not been well addressed.
Even the former Finance Minister, Datuk Mustapha Mohamad who is now the Higher Education Minister confessed that Sabah's 40 years in Malaysia is a total dismal failure in development and nation-building. The lackluster economic performance due to the prima donna attitude of management of Sabah's resources, civil service and political situation has raised doubts whether the Barisan Nasional government remains relevant in leading the state to greater heights. It is said the Barisan Nasional state governance has reduced "once a wealthy state...to a point of no return".
The people living in East Malaysia have definitely never experienced frequent blackout of electricity or shortage of water supply. What we are lamenting daily is only about the prices of petroleum. Did you ever think on behalf of them that if they were given assurance that there would be electricity and water supply for seven days in a week, they would be far more elated than we could imagine. They would rather opt for all these basic needs than making noises on the prices of petroleum. Undeniably, the prices of petroleum have a certain impact on the prices of daily goods like the cooking oil. But for them, providing power supply is the main agenda at the moment.
The DAP national advisor cum Ipoh Timor Member of Parliament, YB Lim Kit Siang did ask whether a Kadazan, Murut or other ethic groups in Sabah can be the Prime Minister of Malaysia, his statement has my full support. With the global economic crisis hitting almost every country, the people in east Malaysia have already felt the tingling effect of it what more for the rural people in Sabah. Thus for my personal view, I feel that the focus should be placed at the measures taken to improve the standard of living at the mean time. In other words, we must fight for racial equality and let every race has the lion's share of the economic pie enjoyed by the country.
The main concerns lie on the safety of the Sabahans. For the past 30 years, the problem of ever increasing illegal immigrants has not been tackled efficiently. It was promised by the Umno during the 1994 general elections that they would present a Sabah Baru. But Umno has failed to manifest what they have promised to the people. The increase of illegal immigrants has reached the level where they outnumbered the local people. Now the Kadazan Murut communities are feeling themselves as strangers in Sabah. The time where you can walk out without locking your house has gone. These illegal immigrants pose a threat even if you locked your house. I am deeply saddened with the change of air in Sabah.
In my next post, I will continue on more insights of Sabah. Next post would be more on corruption, crime and instrastructure.
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