Together with DAP MPs Hiew King Cheu (Kota Kinabalu), Teo Nie Ching (Serdang) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut), and DAP Sabah State Assemblyman for Sri Tanjong Jimmy Wong, I made two visits to various parts of Sabah in the past month – Kota Kinabalu, Kota Belud, Tuaran, Keningau, Tambunan, Sepanggar, Donggongon and Kampong Inobong, Penampang for first-hand information about the neglect of socio-economic development and the frustrations of the people of Sabah.
Wherever we went, we encountered concerns about the plight of Sabahans stranded in the Klang Valley, particularly following media reports early this year of homeless Sabahans who had to scavenge for food from garbage bins outside restaurants in the Klang Valley.
Sabahans back home were shocked that Sabah youths, who had gone to the national capital to seek greener pastures, were roaming the streets and relying on food served by NGOs and on leftovers in dustbins for an additional meal.
Various reasons have been given for their homeless status and these include being cheated by unscrupulous agents who brought them to Kuala Lumpur and abandoned them to cope with the bright lights on the city. Sabahans we met in our two visits whether in Kota Belud, Tuaran, Keningau or Penambang were most concerned about the plight of thousands of Sabahans from different ethnic groups who had left their native lands to work far from home in the hope of returning one day to their villages with a pot of gold.
In response to these concerns, the DAP is organising a meeting on the socio-economic plight of Sabahans stranded in the Klang Valley on:
Date: Sunday, April 18, 2010 Time: 2pm Venue: Petaling Jaya Civics Centre (MBPJ, Jln Yong Shook Lin, PJ)
Enq: 03-79578022 / dap@dapmalaysia.org; 088-254987 /sabahdap@hotmail.com
to provide a forum to discuss and find ways and means to resolve or alleviate these problems, whether by the Federal Government or the Sabah State Government.
Pakatan Rakyat leaders and representatives of the Selangor State Government will also be invited to the meeting.
It has been estimated that there are some 150,000 Sabahans studying, working or stranded in the Klang Valley.
The meeting of Sabahans in the Klang Valley in Petaling Jaya on April 18 will also be an occasion to ventilate and seek solution to their socio-economic problems.
The meeting of Sabahans in the Klang Valley in Petaling Jaya on April 18 is convened by DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu, Hiew King Cheu, assisted and co-ordinated by DAP MPs Teo Nie Ching (Serdang) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut).