The pressing questions and comment at the Forum on 16/9/08 for a new era…

Paper for a new era in Malaysia especially Sabah with deep rooted critical issues by Joshua Kong

This Malaysia House was built with much sacrifice and some blood and lots of sweat money for 45 years and now we need to rebuild/refurbish this rotten Malaysia house with a new one. We have spent a lot of money amounting to trillions of Ringgit for 45 years and some say it is 51 years when it had lots of resources but now we need to rebuild/refurbish this Malaysia House or allow it to rot and build a totally new one for the next decades. But do we have the money and resources to do that?

So we have decided to move towards a new era in Malaysia but how do we do that unless we resolve quite a lot of pressing fundamental national issues when Sabah itself has it own set of critical issues. Many people may want to go forward at accelerated pace but many also pulling it backwards.

So we need to move forwards but first we need to do away with known issues also taboo subjects. We are in dilemma of darkness.

Honestly we cannot avoid those topics (race, religion, & culture) and such topics or deep rooted issues are the stumbling block to real progress. So we need to overcome them openly with an open mind.

Tunku Aziz, an ex teacher of Sabah College where I studied 1965-68, for new era we need to overcome these items of corruption and abuses –
1. As you have spoken recently about the corruption destroying any nation, such corruption are complex and likely not easily detectible and you tell me how do we eradicate corruption for new era in Malaysia especially in Sabah?

2. Do you know that our currency notes in various denominations in your pockets are of varied quality which may look similar but on closer examination, you can see various discrepancies in their printing? We may be talking in term of trillions of Ringgit over a few decades. With one master design and precision printing or minting, how can we observe such varied positions on such notes. So how do we know we are using really legal notes or legalised official fakes ones? You can check that out in your pockets. I have lodged Police Report in 2004.

3. How do we eradicate poverty in the nation especially in Sabah when it is a trap to keep most people poor so that at every general elections, such voters would be bribed easily for RM50-300 each. It is a vicious cycle as who would have such money to bribe the voters? Such people with ill gotten gains would likely get back the ‘handouts’ after winning the election. So how to break this cycle of corruption arising from abuses of power?

4. Another discreet abuses of power and corruption is about the Saham Amanah Sabah (SAS) after losing almost RM400m with impunity was recently revived by 800m new units paid by the State Government for RM200m at 25 cents per unit when the market price was 17 cents. Without full details of the deals coinciding with Permatang Pauh by elections, and commercially it is not understood of the generosity of RM64 million above the market price. It was 15th August and now 16th September – more than 21 days, there is no listed price yet. I want a white paper and a proper inquiry into the deal as it is diverting public fund to benefit 45,000 and likely irregularity in the process.

5. When we have a system of national Governance of several bodies in a Parliamentary Monarchy in sort of democracy including the Rulers’ Conference, the YDP Agong, the Legislative, the Executive, the Judiciary, and the Press plus the regulatory and enforcement agencies like the Police and the Anti Corruption Agency, why should we have to endure such known degradation of such dimensions likely perpetuated by the same groups? Would we ever have a Mr Lee Kuan Yew in Malaysia? So in Malaysia we have a terrible problem when the heads are rotten. Maybe in Malaysia we have an unwritten competition of some people to be richest by ill gotten gains?

6. We all know what corruption can do to the nation in violation of our civil and political rights. Whether we like it or not, the word corruption may not be in the Federal Constitution proper, it is not in the Universal Human Rights, but it is in the Islamic Human Rights in Article 17 in the words of “away from vice and moral corruption”. How do we relate to this paralysis of corruption in all aspects – civil, social, politics and others in a Muslim majority nation when there is a total lack of political will as the role of Anti Corruption Agency is questionable?

7. Food and Fuel Prices Upheaval is the worst in the recent times especially after 5th June, 2008. While the blame is on the global fuel and food dimensions, there are more reasons for the need of such sudden reduction of fuel subsidies. Amongst the reasons are the level of corruption at the high levels is not decreasing and the nation is forced to have the sudden reduction in fuel subsidy resulting in terrible hardship for most people in vicious circle of meeting costs of living on fixed incomes. Would the nation crumble sooner under the scourge of official corruption and mismanagement?

8. The latest provision of RM100 per child under 18 years up to 5 in a family should be provided for a non polygamous family as polygamous families can afford the extra wives..

9. 2009 Budget is an indicator of the nation in turmoil when the highest deficit budget of RM208 billion is quite meaningless with an operating expenditure of RM154 billion and development expenditure of RM54 billion. Without full details on the operating expenditure, an allocation of RM86.3 billion was made for fixed charges and grants. Fixed charges and grants would likely indicate payments for past financial committments – a pay up time for previous mismanagement? We also have two other major parallel fundings namely the 9th Malaysia Plan and the 5 Economic Development Corridors. How would the Government present its performance on each category regularly given the limitation of funds? Would the Government have the needed funds when there was an external debt of RM267 billions?

10. In Sabah since 1963, we had changes of State Governments every 9 years since the first State General Elections in 1967 until 1994 subject to a power grab. Earlier in 1985, there was an aborted power grab. Most state General Elections had been rigged and the Federal Government one way or another has a hand in that. Then since 1994, the 7 Chief Ministers were rotated for better or worst. At the national level, the voters do not decide the Prime Ministers as the Presidents of UMNO have been at the helm of the Federal Government for 51/45 years not rotated amongst the BN component parties. As constitutional abuses have a correlation with the abuses of power and corruption, such entrenchment of top leaders is an issue to be addressed for a new era.

11. In Sabah, BN is led by Sabah UMNO since the power grab of 1994 and it is quite hard to dislodge that power hold for a complicity of factors – fear, dubious citizens and faulty electoral rolls plus money politics. I believe many people want to see a new era but how would this new era be better given the state of political play in Sabah vis-a-vis Federal Government? While other Peninsula States prefer their own people to dominate the local politics, Sabah’s fate is dependent on the promises of Federal based parties at elections. When the choice of state and federal based parties is not so defined for the voters – money politics had been the decider. Some have championed for autonomy but such development can only come with a determined state party or group of state parties. When we have federal based parties dominant in Sabah, the diluted attention is inevitable with more fixed overheads and spending time in the Federal capital. So how do we go for new era even after 916?

12. Sabah has a problem when 916 occurs at the Federal Government. Would there be a change at the Sabah’s State Government? In Sabah we had been led by rolled over people of the previous state government to the next since 1976 until 1994 and slight variations after that but still the same groups of people in office. Would it be just changing shirts with different logos and no new era? We need to know how would the scenario be when 916 becomes a reality so that we are prepared for it. I have two Writs of Summons on GE 2004 and GE 2008 at the Kota Kinabalu High Courts with the mention of the second one on 7th October, 2008.

13. Mathathir and the social contract.
Would Tun Dr Mahathir prepare the the socalled social contract in a statutory declaration?
Mahathir has yet to respond to our allegation of Project Mathathir on project IC.
Irrespective Mahathir wants to back track on the award of citizenships to non Malays or non Muslims in Peninsula Malaya, Sabah would have to address the project IC of 1-2 millions out of 4-5 millions dubious citizens in Malaysia and Sabah also need to re-consider the item in the twenty point of no secession.

14. I have a Mission in politics – after a wilderness of 40 years and the strength derived from that survival and now into the promised land for a new era. I had been a whistle blower since the dark era of USNO, and now someone has come up with the new dawn. This new dawn or new era would be meaningless if nothing shift substantially.

15. Some people talks of autonomy for Sabah, and some people talks of secession, and some people talk of the review of Malaysia Agreement, I would like to emphasize on indemnity for the 45 years of failings, failures, faltering and neglect in Sabah. Without the sizeable funds to be handled by a new system, Sabah would degrade further especially the fossil fuel runs out soon. Sabah is already at the worst of every indicator even with the prevailing natural resources especially we have signed away the crude oil forever for 5% only of Production Sharing Contracts’ pre-agreed price.

16. We would appeal to the Government with the effort of the opposition to resolve the major pressing issues with appropriate indemnity for all the shortcomings to enable Sabah to be developed in line with the national status. NGOs are expected to compliment the Governments in development efforts but when the Governments failed, the NGOs should be allowed to takeover whatever faltered, failed or abandoned projects to be funded accordingly. The Government should allow a special body to be known as MyPAW or Malaysia Private Accounts Watch in the vein of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament to provide the additional check and balance of public funds. Government and its agencies should also be penalised for failures and neglects in the context of consumerism

17. I have also lodged 26 Police Reports (2004-2008) worth RM11.441 trillions. As Government does give reward for information of crimes, any such rewards as in indemnities would be handled by a trust funds managed by me and others for the development of new era Sabah. Sabah should set the new direction for the nation.

Joshua Y. C. Kong