Archive for category Sabah
Landmark achievement of Tawau “Don Quixote” case in defence of open spaces
Posted by Kit in Local Goverment, Sabah, Social on Saturday, 29 December 2007
I commend the Tawau Municipal Council (TMC) for admitting that the Sabindo development and encroachment of Tawau open spaces is illegal and invalid and I call on Sabindo developers, Jeramas Sdn Bhd and Aggasf Construction Sdn. Bhd to emulate the example of TMC to reach an amicable “win-win” settlement for the interests of the people of Tawau.
DAP leaders and I had attended several public meetings in Tawau over the scandal of the encroachment and deprivation of the open spaces in Tawau, subordinating the public interests of the people of Tawau to private profit-making in disregard of the law and public policy.
DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok and I had also raised in Parliament the issue of the lack of municipal good governance as illustrated by the Sabindo open space scandal, with the Tawau municipality teeming with “Little Napoleons” defying the Prime Minister and the Sabah State Cabinet in depriving the fundamental right of the people of Tawau to open spaces and recreational grounds.
I was very uplifted when I was informed last night by Jimmy Wong (alias Tiger Wong of Tawau) – who together with nine other public-spirited Tawau ratepayers had taken the TMC to court on the unlawful Sabindo development project and the encroachment of the Tawau open spaces and recreational grounds – that the Tawau people had achieved a classic and landmark breakthrough in their long, arduous and uphill battle to protect the “open spaces” in Tawau not only for the people of Tawau but also for the people Sabah and Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Sub-marginalisation of KDM — rejection of bumiputra status of Sino Kadazandusuns with Chinese surnames
It was only two weeks ago that the people of Sabah celebrated the 44th Malaysia Day on September 16 under protest — as the significance of the formation of Malaysia on that date had been virtually ignored in the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations resulting in a renewed call for Sept. 16 to be declared a national holiday to be an annual reminder to all Malaysians throughout the country of its meaning and importance.
However there had been no lack of somber reminders to Sabahans and Malaysians in recent months that in many important aspects, the clock of national integration and nation-building had gone backwards instead of striking boldly forward to create an united, vibrant, progressive and harmonious Bangsa Malaysia.
Only this month, it surfaced that there is not only the phenomenon of the marginalization of the Kadazandusun-Murut (KDM) community in Sabah, which I had highlighted in Parliament, but there is also the sub-marginalisation of the KDM when Sino-Kadazandusuns with Chinese surnames suffer a new discrimination when they are rejected from investing in Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) schemes.
ASNB had announced that the applications by at least 100 persons of Sino Kadazan descent to invest in ASNB were rejected as they could not produce a native certificate.
Section 2(1)(b) of the Interpretation (Definition of Native) Ordinance under the laws of Sabah cannot be clearer that a Sino Kadazandusun is a bumiputra, as it states that a Native is any person ordinarily resident in Sabah and being and living as a member of a native community, one at least of whose parents or ancestors is or was a native.
Sino Kadazandusuns are outraged at the ASNB rejection of their birth certificate officially stating the identity and status of one of their parents as a native and requiring them to get a Native Certificate when for over 23 years the Sabah State Government had imposed a freeze order on the Native Court system on the issuance of Native Certificates. Read the rest of this entry »
Yee Yang Yang – Tawau’s pride in standing up for the freedom and rights of university students
I am happy to be back in Tawau, particularly as it has produced a youth who had stood up for the freedom and rights of all university students in the country.
I refer to Tawau youth, Yee Yang Yang, 19, first year student at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) who became the cause celebre of campus rights of university students as he was thrown into the limelight when he was victimized by UPM security personnel two weeks ago trying to cow students from asserting their human rights to independent student activism.
On Sept. 15, UPM security officials raided Yee’s hostel room and confiscated his laptop computer, high-end mobile phone, portable music player and several other items.
Being interrogated by the security officials was the least of his problems when the UPM Vice Chancellor Nik Mustapha R. Abdullah publicly defended the action of the security officials and justified the confiscation on the ground that Yee’s laptop contained pornographic materials.
This was a downright lie, which had virtually been admitted by the UPM authorities who have returned all the confiscated items to Yee.
Any lesser soul would have wilted under such unprecedented pressures from the university authorities. But Yee stoutly stood his ground. Read the rest of this entry »
50th Merdeka: Now, everyone can be a Bajau!
Posted by Kit in nation building, Sabah on Thursday, 16 August 2007
by – Product of the System
An Unbooked Pregnancy
A 42-year-old lady presents with strong contraction pains at 3am. Of Filipino descent and speaking no Bahasa Malaysia, she was unable to provide any valuable clinical history pertinent to her current pregnancy.
In addition, she did not seek any antenatal care. A multiparous lady with 12 other children, she gave birth uneventfully but her premature 31-week baby developed breathing complications from his immature lungs.
He was referred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Likas, where he was treated for the next 48 days with costly first-line medications and neonatal supplements. Further investigations revealed congenital syphilis contracted from his mother.
Unable to settle the five-figure hospital bill, the father paid a meagre RM 10.00, vowing to settle the outstanding amount on their next clinic visit.
Seen in the clinic one month later, the couple returned with their child and – brand new Malaysian ICs. Declaring themselves now to be Malaysian Bajaus, they were absolved of all their hospital debts and spirited onto the red carpet of Bumiputeraship.
A Neglected Child
A frail 3-year-old Indonesian boy was admitted for severe dehydration from a two-week history of infective diarrhea.
The second youngest of 14 children, the family lives in a 5m X 8m stilt house built over sea water, aptly known as kampong air. They draw water and electricity from illegal connections made stealthily to the homes of local Sabahans.
Domestic waste and human excrement are disposed off by open sea dumping and drop latrines. On examination, the child was drowsy in hypotensive shock and was severely malnourished.
Over a period of 4 weeks, he was given intensive care and nursed back to health with adequate rehydration and total parenteral nutrition costing RM 1,000 per day.
Upon discharge, the parents swore themselves to be Bajau, flashed newly-minted Mykads and laid claim to the privilege of free healthcare.
From pendatang tanpa izin just a month ago, they’ve become warganegara Islam and are therefore eligible to the broad spectrum of bumiputera privileges under UMNO’s New Economic Policy.
The child went back to the family home, where he nonchalantly resumed his daily routine of waddling barefooted in the filthy mud of kampong air littered with human excrement.
A Jobless Lad
An unemployed 28-year-old man was admitted after a freak road accident. After a heavy alcohol binge, he went on a terror joyride with a friend equally under the influence.
He suffered a grade 3 open fractures of both his right forearm bones with multiple tendon and nerve cuts. He underwent a complicated and costly emergency surgery, the first of many to come.
Over the next two months, he underwent repeated reconstructive procedures — readjustments of metal fixator, wound debridements and skin flaps.
He was seen in the clinic a week after discharge whereby he now professes to be a Bajau. His outstanding hospital bills were consequently declared null and void. Read the rest of this entry »
The Medical Mafia and ‘University Myanmar Sabah’
by LKT
I refer to your letter “University Myanmar Sabah” where the author lists various problems with the administration, staffing and ultimately blames the Dean, albeit prematurely, for the shortcomings of this Medical Faculty.
As long as there is a need for doctors and a concomitant maintenance in the rise of standards or medical technology exists, the evolution or expansion of medical schools here in Malaysia must be encouraged contrary to the opinions of some of your readers that a number of of these facilities ought to be shut down.
Development of local-based medical universities is critical if we are going to keep costs down and maintain standards instead of sending our bright but financially underprivileged children to such institutions based in Indonesia and Russia which did not have the benefit of a British educational input which has helped this country on previous occasions to have word class standards in medical care.
In 1962, when Thumboo John Danaraj was appointed the Foundation Dean to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, he proposed that the Medical Faculty should have its own hospital.
Up to the 1950’s, the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, which was known previously as King Edward VII College of Medicine had been the only medical school in Malaya and Singapore. The output of doctors at that time was small: 60 per year forcing many Malaysians to go overseas to seek undergraduate medical education.
Construction of the faculty building began in July 1963 right through March 1967 when the first wards were opened culminating finally in the completion of the Paediatric, Maternity and Rehabilitation Units which became functional in March 1968.
On 5th August 1968, the University Hospital was officially opened by the Agong. University Malaya had a world class Faculty and Hospital. But what of the lecturers?
T.J. Danaraj had no qualms bringing in the best lecturers he could afford and most of these lecturers originated from the Indian subcontinent, some of whom are still with the University. The country had not enough doctors let alone lecturers and in the initial years the University Hospital had to depend on a large expatriate population to help establish this school.
Although the working capital for this Malaysian medical icon came from both the Ministry of Education and Health, trouble was already brewing at the Ministry of Health, known those days and even sometimes today as the “Medical Mafia” which wanted to have the final say in all things medical in this country. They refused initially to recognise housemanship at the UH as part of the 4-year compulsory service until there were widespread protests by UH doctors. Read the rest of this entry »
PM’s “No more logging licences” does not sound categorical and absolute – more like a “No…but”
Posted by Kit in environment, Sabah on Saturday, 11 August 2007
The Star headline is categorical and unequivocal — “PM: No more logging licences — ‘Important to maintain current forest'”.
But close reading of the speech by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as reported does not convey a categorical and absolute “No” but more of a “No… but”, allowing for exceptions and exemptions in special circumstances.
This is the Star report:
SANDAKAN: No more logging licences will be given out as far as the Prime Minister is concerned.
“I will turn down anyone who comes to me asking for logging licences. If I want to make them happy, I will tell them to ask Musa (Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman), knowing that he will say no too,” said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Cautioning forest custodians to not simply give out logging licences when opening the RM9.2mil Rainforest Discovery centre about 30km from here, Abdullah said he would not entertain people requesting for logging licences from the states.
He said it was important to maintain the current natural forests as they were important to the eco-system.
I do not think any remark by Abdullah has raised more questions. For instance:
Why “No more logging licences… .as far as the Prime Minister is concerned”? Does this mean that so long as the Prime Minister is not aware, it is ok for logging licences in Sabah to continue to be issued?
Is Abdullah’s “No more logging licences” declaration for Sabah only or for all states, whether Sarawak or the Peninsular Malaysia states under Barisan Nasional control — and how could this decree be carried out when it is based on Abdullah’s off-the-cuff speech? Or is it just going to be good media copy to be instantly forgotten or ignored by the various state governments concerned?
Abdullah’s next remark is even more baffling. Read the rest of this entry »
“It is easy to become a Malay”
Posted by Kit in nation building, Sabah on Monday, 11 June 2007
DAP MP for Seputeh, Teresa Kok, who is currently in Sabah on a political visit together with Member of Parliament Fong Po Kuan (Batu Gajah), has drawn my attention to the following Daily Express report yesterday quoting the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali Rustam as saying “It is easy to become a Malay”:
Easy to become a Malay, says MB
Kota Kinabalu: Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali Rustam said a person who is a Muslim, converses in Malay and follows the Malay traditions is considered a Malay.
“It is easy to become a Malay, ” he told a Press conference after Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman opened the Dunia Muslim Dunia Islam (DMDI) seminar, here, Saturday.
Elaborating on why Musa had said that more than 50 per cent of the State’s nearly three million population are Malays, Mohd Ali, who is also DMDI president, said:
“Even if that person is Chinese or Indian or Kadazan,if they are Muslim or have converted, converse in Malay and follow the Malay tradition, then they are Malays.”
“The Kadazans if they are a Muslim, we considered them as Malays, and if they have not embraced Islam, they are Bumiputeras. It is easy to become a Malay.” Read the rest of this entry »
If Prime Ministers do not know, then who does?
by Amigo
A parallel can be drawn between the problem or problems facing the Malaysian government and that of the United States over what to do with the presence of millions of illegal aliens within its borders, working illegally and sending billions back to their home state — the only difference is that in the case of the U.S. it represents a national problem whereas in the case of Malaysia it is looked upon by some as a panacea to a “national problem”.
In the state of Sabah today, with the presence of “foreigners” more appropriately referred to as illegal aliens working illegally within its borders, outnumbering its citizens, the problem over time has been compounded many times over. Since its “inception” there is no government attempt to calculate in terms of costs how much it is costing the country and Malaysian taxpayers in terms of jobs lost, medical costs, education and the strain on its existing infrastructure — and the crime rate in the country.
In the U.S. even if you are an illegal alien, you are entitled to the protection afforded by the U.S. Constitution under the First Amendment; the children of illegal aliens have the right to educate their children by sending them to public schools like any of its citizens, and when they get sick they cannot be refused medical treatment at hospitals. These costs are borne by its citizens when they pay their taxes.
One cannot even begin to compare less still fathom the depth of the problem posed by illegal immigrants in Malaysia, and in the state of Sabah in particular.
Where do these “foreigners’ send their children to be educated unless they have red ICs? Are we not condemning them to a life of criminals? How do they get driving licenses to drive without documents to prove their presence? Never mind the lives lost in motor accidents because the driver is not insured. Never mind the hospitals since even its citizens are not entitled to medical treatment they could not afford to pay.
No official studies has been made to study the impact the presence these “foreigners” better referred to as illegal aliens or “undocumented’ workers, has on the local economy e.g. the impact it has on the demographic landscape of the state of Sabah, their implications on the planning and development of not only physical infrastructure but also socio-economic, all essential indicators for a meaningful economic planning under the country’s Five Year Development Plans. Read the rest of this entry »
Sudden cancellation of PSCI meeting – connected with proposal to invite Mahathir to talk about “Project False I/Cs” and corruption?
Posted by Kit in Parliament, Sabah on Tuesday, 15 May 2007
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity was to meet this morning in connection with the subject of “Project False I/Cs” in Sabah, which had also been termed by some as “Project Mahathir”, resulting in the extraordinary increase of foreigners with their numbers exceeding Sabahans in the state population.
Yesterday morning, members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity received SMS from Parliament reminding them of the meeting which was fixed three weeks ago at its previous meeting on April 24.
Last evening, the morning SMS was countermanded by fax and SMS from Parliament postponing tomorrow’s meeting to an indefinite date. No reason for the sudden postponement was given and until now I do not know the cause for the cancellation of today’s meeting.
Earlier yesterday, I had proposed that former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad should appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity to throw light on the “Project False I/Cs” which had been described by some as “Project Mahathir”, alleging that Mahathir was the mastermind when he was Prime Minister in the massive and deliberate issuance of Malaysian I/Cs to foreigners based on false statutory declarations. Read the rest of this entry »
“Project Mahathir” – Mahathir should appear before Integrity Select Committee
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Sabah on Monday, 14 May 2007
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad should appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity to throw light on the grave and protracted problem of the extraordinary increase of foreigners resulting in their numbers exceeding Sabahans in the state population.
This is particularly pertinent in view of persistent allegations that Mahathir had masterminded when he was Prime Minister what had been described as “Project Mahathir False ICs” in Sabah based on the deliberate issuance of Malaysian I/Cs to foreigners based on false statutory declarations under “Project IC” or “Project Mahathir”.
One estimate has put the foreigners in Sabah as around 1.75 million, including those in possession of the Project Mahathir ICs, as compared to 1.5 million genuine locals in Sabah.
Hundreds of thousands of false ICs are in the hands of foreigners who are proclaiming themselves not only Malaysians but also as Bumiputras with all the privileges and rights of Customary Native Rights in Sabah.
It is now public information that in the 1999 certified electoral rolls, through the new IC numbers, there were 150,000 Sabah-born registered voters who were born in 1952 through 1960 although according to the Sabah Statistics Department, the State’s population in 1951 was 334,141 and in 1960, 454,421, an increase of 120,000.
With an estimated 80 per cent in this group registered as voters, there would only be about 100,000 Sabah-born voters for this period — which would mean that about one-third of voters allegedly born in Sabah between 1952-1960 were foreigners with ICs issued fraudulently with the use of falsified Sijil Akuan under the Project False I/Cs.
These are very serious allegations which Mahathir cannot allow to stand in the public domain uncontradicted or unclarified. Read the rest of this entry »
Congrats and 3 immediate tasks for Raymond Tan as new Sabah DCM
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah on Friday, 4 May 2007
Congrats to Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Deputy President Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah on his appointment as Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Vice President Datuk Liew Yun Fan as Minister for Youth and Sports..
I do not expect any thanks from the duo, although all Sabahans know that if not for my strong criticisms of the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman during my three-day political tour of Tawau, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan last weekend for leaving vacant the two posts relinquished by Tan Sri Chong Kah Keat and the marginalization of both the Chinese and the Kadazandusun Murut communities in Sabah Baru, both appointments would have remained shelved.
Although the Sabah State Secretary Datuk K. Y. Mustafa said yesterday that Musa had informed the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of the reshuffle on April 25 and he had agreed to the appointments, nobody would believe Mustapha’s statement.
If Mustapha was speaking the truth, then Musa has a blackmark in setting the worst record for any state government leader in having to take nine long days to implement such a decision, which would normally be announced on the very same day itself
Can Musa explain the reasons for such gross incompetence and ineptitude?
Mustafa was clearly trying to shield the Chief Minister and fend off my political criticisms of Musa on this issue, but it is not his job as the state’s No. 1 civil servant to be embroiled in the political waters.
Mustafa should zealously safeguard the independence, impartiality, professionalism and image of the state civil service and not compromise them by doing political yeoman service for his political master.
Mustafa should leave politics to the politicians and do a good job as a model civil servant in the state by demonstrating that as the No. 1 civil servant in Sabah, he fully understands the meaning of civil service independence, impartiality, integrity and non-partisanship and is guided by these principles in his every action and statement. Read the rest of this entry »
World’s tallest Mazu statue in Kudat – What is Sabah CM Musa’s stand?
During my three-day political visit of Tawau, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan last week together with DAP Pahang State Assemblyman Leong Ngah Ngah and DAP Sarawak Assemblywoman for Pending, Violet Yong, one of my consistent themes was calling for support for the tourist-promotion initiative of former Sabah Deputy Chief Minister/Minister for Tourism Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat (and which is bruited as one of the two main reasons for his shock resignation) – the world’s tallest Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) statue project in Kudat.
I am glad that there is growing public support for the project in Sabah as illustrated by the Sabah Daily Express report “CM urged to reconsider” which is reproduced below.
I had intended to meet up with the Federal Minister for Tourism Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor next week during the resumed meeting of Parliament to urge him to support the world’s tallest Mazu project, which will not only be a triple bonus to the tourism promotion campaign for Kudat, Sabah and Malaysia but will also be a symbol of the “Instant Asia” publicity which Malaysia is promoting worlwide.
There would be no need for me to meet up with Tengku Adnan if the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman and the State Cabinet announce their support for the Mazu project in Kudat, especially as land and public donations exceeding RM5 million for the Kudat Mazu project have been pledged, and parts for the construction of the 108-ft 10-storey-high Mazu statue are being shipped to Sabah.
What is the stand of Musa on the Kudat Mazu project?
Is the world’s tallest Mazu project on the agenda of the Sabah State Cabinet at its next meeting, and if not, is there any Sabah State Minister who is prepared to make a public pledge to raise it at the next Cabinet meeting? Read the rest of this entry »
Tourism Minister should support the world’s tallest Mazu (Goddess of Sea) statue project in Kudat
The Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor should support the world’s tallest Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) statue project in Kudat as it will be economically good for Sabah and Malaysia by enhancing the nation’s international tourism competitiveness.
Although Tan Sri Chong Kat Kiat has yet to publicly disclose the reasons for his shock resignation as Deputy Chief Minister and State Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment on April 13, his oblique reference to resigning over “a matter of principle” raises the question as to whether his resignation concerned the interests of the state, his party or individual self.
Public speculation over his resignation had zeroed on two issues, viz:
Firstly, his being forced to “eat dead cat” or unfairly to take the blame for the development of Pulau Sipadan which damaged the unique coral reef of one of the top five diving spots in the world. As a result, it attracted public criticism of the Prime Minister when the Federal Government was embarrassed by the despoliation of the fragile ecosystem of Sipadan which was first exposed and reported internationally by environmental groups. However, it was the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman, who must bear responsibility for the plans to develop Sipadan.
Secondly, Chong’s differences with Musa over the former’s plan to build the world’s tallest Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) statue in Kudat which will be a tourist and economic boon for the district, Sabah and Malaysia in enhancing our international tourist competitiveness by drawing tourists from China, Taiwan and Japan. Read the rest of this entry »
Curses of 2Cs and 2Is in Sandakan and Sabah
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah on Monday, 30 April 2007
For 12 years from 1978 to 1990, Sandakan was represented by the DAP in Parliament and the people of Sandakan were in the political vanguard in the state and nation in the battle for justice, equality and democracy.
In the past 17 years from 1990 to 2007, the people of Sandakan withdrew from this front-line role for political change in Sabah and Malaysia.
Last year, the wind of political change blew strong and hard in Sarawak when six DAP representatives were elected into the Sarawak State Assembly, fundamentally altering the culture, quality and direction of Sarawak State Assembly proceedings and Sarawak politics.
Many are hoping that this “Sarawak wind of political change” will also blow in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah come the next general election, which is most likely at the end of this year or early next year after Barisan Nasional’s surprise result in the Ijok by-election in Selangor yesterday.
The time has come for the wind of political change to blow again in the “Land Below the Wind” as Sabah was known.
Earlier today, together with the Sarawak DAP Assemblywoman for Pending Violet Yong and Pahang DAP Assemblyman for Triang Leong Ngah Ngah, I visited the new Sandakan market which had been operating for four months.
It was a grandiose “white-elephant” which cost RM34 million or over 60 per cent cost overrun from the original estimate of RM21 million — an outstanding symbol of the lack of municipal good governance in Sandakan and Sabah as well as the lack of accountability, integrity and effective democratic representation.
The cries of the majority of the stallholders in the new Sandakan market that they are sandwiched between high rentals and poor business as a result of bad siting, lack of supportive infrastructure like proper bus service and sub-standard construction despite exorbitant construction costs, had been totally ignored by all the three tiers of government – local, state and national.
The Sabah State Assembly had just concluded its meeting last week but nobody raised the scandal of the RM34 million new Sandakan market in the Sabah State Assembly. Read the rest of this entry »
Open Letter to Tawau MP – resign before May 17
I issued an Open Letter to the Barisan Nasional Member of Parliament for Tawau, Shim Paw Fatt, today asking him to resign before May 17 to position Tawau as the centre of state, national and international attention, end the decline of Tawau into an economic backwater and spur super-development with hundreds of millions of ringgit allocations that will be poured in by Barisan Nasional as demonstrated by Machap and Ijok by-elections.
In my Open Letter to Shim, I wanted him to know that my suggestion at a press conference at Sin Onn Market in Tawau yesterday that he resign as Tawau MP was no political game or “child’s play” but a deadly-serious proposal after serious consideration as to how to end the long-standing neglect of Tawau by the Barisan Nasional, whether at the state or federal level, transforming it from a stagnant economic backwater into a vibrant and dynamic growth centre for the region.
I told Shim that nothing in his political life could achieve greater results for the super-development of Tawau than to make a personal sacrifice by resigning as MP for Tawau before May 17, the deadline when any vacancy for a parliamentary seat would have to be filled by a by-election, causing a by-election to be held.
My Open Letter to Shim reads: Read the rest of this entry »
KDM the new underclass in Umno’s Sabah Baru
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah on Monday, 16 April 2007
Sabah is in the throes of a political crisis although it is publicly
denied by the Umno and Barisan Nasional leadership, whether state or national.
There is for instance a lot of play-acting over the shock abrupt resignation of Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat as Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and State Tourism Minister on Friday, with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi fully endorsing the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Aman, in saying that Chong’s resignation was “not really a loss” because it would not weaken the Barisan Nasional state government.
In other words, although Chong was Deputy Chief Minister and one of the key digits in the in the conspiracy and strategy to establish Umno hegemony in Sabah in the early nineties, he is now completely irrelevant and expendable.
It is no surprise therefore that Chong had expressed his “hurt” at the Prime Minister’s dismissive comments about his resignation, telling Oriental Daily News today that the Prime Minister’s comment had wounded his dignity and offended the people of Sabah and the Chinese.
Kah Kiat had maintained that he was quitting the Sabah Cabinet “as a matter of principle” — implying basic and fundamental differences with the Sabah Chief Minister.
The media have reported that ties have been strained between the chief minister and his deputy for some time over numerous issues like Musa’s plans to develop Pulau Sipadan island off Sabah’s east coast, with Malaysiakini citing as ” the final straw” their differences over Chong’s proposal to build a huge statue of the Goddess of Mercy in Kudat as a tourist attraction.
It is clear however to astute political observers that Chong’s resignation is only the tip of the iceberg of what is politically wrong and even rotten in Sabah after Umno’s entry in Sabah and 13 years of Umno and Barisan Nasional control of the Sabah State Government and that the issues at stake are even bigger than Chong’s differences over “principle” with Musa.
What is the cause of the Sabah malaise and crisis? Umno has successfully made its foray into Sabah and established its unquestioned political hegemony in the state in less than a decade, but in the process, it has broken every pledge it had made on entry into Sabah. Read the rest of this entry »
Kah Kiat’s resignation as Sabah DCM no real loss?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah, Sarawak on Saturday, 14 April 2007
Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat’s resignation as Sabah Deputy Chief Minister is “no real loss” to Barisan Nasional. With or without Kah Kiat, it makes no difference to the BN in Sabah.
This is the clear message from the public reaction of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as reported by the Star today:
Chong’s exit not really a loss, says Abdullah
The resignation of Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat is “not really a loss” because it will not weaken the Barisan Nasional state government, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The Prime Minister said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman had informed him of Chong’s intention to step down, saying he wanted to rest.
He added that there was no other reason than that given by Musa.
“So as far as I am concerned, he will get his wish. Let him rest,” he told reporters yesterday after launching the Conference to Improve the Delivery System of Government Services To Improve the Development Process As Well As Property Management.
Abdullah said Chong’s resignation was not unexpected because the latter had expressed his desire to step down a number of times.
On whether the resignation was a loss, Abdullah said; “Not really a loss in the sense that I don’t think the government of Sabah is going to be weakened with him not being around. But anyway we would like to say ‘thank you’.”
Has Kah Kiat become so irrelevant and inconsequential in Barisan Nasional and Sabah politics as to be shrugged off so ignominously by both the Prime Minister and the Sabah Chief Minister? Read the rest of this entry »
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