Sabah for Sabahans

COMMENT BY FUI K. SOONG

The disenfranchisement and the resentment in Sabah towards federal politics and policies are very real, realities created by the BN administration. The dynamics that are being witnessed today is just a situation ripe to play mind games with.

SABAH for Sabahans” gained its zenith of popularity during the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) rule in the state.

To a puritan federalist it is almost treasonable. But to many proud Sabahans who remember the 1980’s struggles, it was a term that gave rise to a generation of Sabahans whose political consciousness was awoken by a sense of identity that was multi-racial, open and most of all, confident. We stood tall because we had dared challenge the federal regime of the day.

With all the talk of Sabah MPs crossing over to Pakatan Rakyat, and if anyone believes this to be another wave of Sabah defiance, they are dead wrong.

Sabahans still stand in awe when we see the shape of Mount Kinabalu sitting in the blue hues of our state flag. And in reality, the mountain is an awesome sight by itself. “Sabah Maju Jaya” is still sung with great pride by every Sabahan with no exception to any race.

We should be so insulted to be painted as a bunch of shenanigans with no virtue, moral standing or principles.

The disenfranchisement and the resentment towards federal politics and policies thus far, are very real. But these are realities created by the BN rule. The dynamics that we witness today is just a situation ripe to play mind games with.

Sabahans have to live every day of their lives alongside reportedly, two million illegal immigrants compared to one million locals. Their children litter the streets in the cities begging for scraps and odd jobs, unable to attend school, as they have no official papers.

By the day, Kota Kinabalu is looking more like Manila than Malaysia. By any moral standard, how can we allow poverty and human suffering to come to this level – whether or not we choose to recognise them as full citizens is another matter.

Sabah ranked from being the richest state in 1970’s to being the poorest state. Using UNDP’s numbers, Sabah has a poverty rate of 23.0% compared to Wilayah Persekutuan-KL of 1.5%!

In the district of Nabawan, the poverty rate is as high as 70.8%, as 21,568 households live in hardcore poverty. The dropout rate is 50%, twice the national figure and most schools located in the rural areas are equipped with very poor facilities.

Children are so poor that they do not even have soap to clean themselves with. Children attend classes naked because parents sell their free uniforms to feed their families.

In the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the total allocation for Sabah makes up 7.69% compared with 15.06% for the Federal Territories.

These are just hard numbers.

Sabah won 24 out of 25 seats contested. However, it’s still only 25 seats out of the 140 seats garnered by the BN. The lack of representation at ministerial level in truth is limited when both the states combined only represent 1.7 million out of the 10.9 million registered voters.

While Sabah and Sarawak may have held a crucial deciding factor to retain BN’s simple majority in this elections, many of the seats were won due to lack of cohesion among the Opposition parties. The extent of gerrymandering also contributed to no small amount to BN’s wins in the state.

Is this why Sabah representatives often complain that they are not treated with respect in all the political platforms from the Cabinet to grassroots, including those within their parties?

Today, both sides of the political fence paint Anwar Ibrahim in the same breath as how we saw Pairin Kitingan or PBS in the 80’s.

To begin with, Anwar Ibrahim is no Sabahan. In the 90’s, he was Finance Minister and PM-in-waiting “hero-rised” as a leader with international stature but in small-town Sabah, the people saw him as no more than an errand boy for Tun Dr Mahathir.

That said, has there been a credible Sabah leader that has been able to articulate our pain and concerns?

Is it really about more representation in the Cabinet and more royalties? Younger generations of Sabahans, unlike previous decades, are less likely to be anti-Federal.

Many of them have studied in Peninsular Malaysia in both private and public colleges and universities. They know what is like to live in a greater Malaysia beyond their Sabah shores.

Most also know that the 20-point agreement (signed when Sabah joined Malaysia) cannot be practically implemented if we are to finally come to terms with being part of Malaysia.

But what does it mean to be a Sabahan when two-thirds of the population are illegals? If the BN government does not want the situation to be hijacked by the Opposition, this is the first thing it must address – bring back what matters most to Sabah, our land.

The illegal migrant situation has become so bad that we already have a second, if not third generation of Filipinos and Indonesians born in Sabah.

In the name of humanity, I am not sure if we can even morally deport them without causing social mayhem and a localised economic collapse. But we need a definite closure because we need to move on.

“Sabah for Sabahans” conjures a lot of idealism as well as realities for many Sabahans even today but it does not mean we are less proud of who we are and what we still stand for. RESPECT and DIGNITY.

Whoever captures that, gets to rule.

Fui K. Soong is CEO of Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP), a think tank of MCA, an organisation dedicated to research on the removal of barriers and bias in policies that impede Malaysian unity, racial harmony and economic prosperity. You can e-mail her at fui4545@yahoo.com.

Anifah to BN: Beware of the next political tsunami!

The SUN, Thursday, 15 May 2008

Anifah: Once the defections start, there's no stopping
Llew-Ann Phang

KUALA LUMPUR (May 14, 2008): If and when East Malaysian Barisan Nasional (BN) parliamentarians defect, the ruling coalition cannot do anything anymore (to stop the defections), said Datuk Anifah Aman (BN-Kimanis).

Anifah, one of the many Sabahan and Sarawakian MPs who voiced their concern and dissatisfaction over BN’s lack of attention to issues in the two states in debates on the motion of thanks on the royal address, did not discount himself from doing the same.

"I will do it (defect) if it is in the best interest of the people," he told reporters in Parliament lobby today.

However, Anifah defended that the Sabah leaders were actually trying to stop the people from defecting.

When asked about the up till August time frame given by Datuk Yong Teck Lee (Sabah Progressive Party President and Gaya MP), Anifah said people were getting impatient and were drawn to the 20% oil royalty offer by Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

"It makes a lot of difference for Sabah. Whether it becomes a reality, is debatable. What we are saying is 'look into our grievances', the problem of illegal immigrants.

"If you can set up the Judicial Appointment Commission and the Malaysian Commission against Corruption, why can’t you set up a commission to look into this matter," he lamented.

Parti Bersatu Sabah president Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan likened the situation to the government being the doctor who is not treating the aches and pains of the people, the patient.

"It is just like when we are sick, the doctor doesn’t treat you to get rid of that pain in the body, you will continue to feel sick and unhappy and miserable. The aches and pains have been expressed in the Dewan and the patient has been talking and telling the doctor they need treatment," he said, adding that Sabah MPs were merely protecting the country and its sovereignty.

"This means illegal immigrants must be sent away. We have laws which must be enforced. Who are you choosing, your citizens or the illegal immigrants? Of course your citizens must be protected," said Pairin.

On the oil royalty, Kitingan said it needed to be considered "as I see it as a lopsided agreement".

"It is also being fully exploited by the Opposition and the agreement has to be studied. You can’t just dismiss it as not being lopsided but there must be a discussion with all the MPs and leaders to look at the facts and figures so that the people are satisfied," he added.

Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Ghapur Salleh (BN-Kalabakan) denies any knowledge of MPs "jumping ship" and says he isn’t one, for now.

However, he quipped: "If I am not satisfied, I will form my own party. Why should I jump? I don’t want to jump because the other party will also tie my legs, like BN". "All I am saying to the leadership is we don’t want to be second class citizens."

Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan (BN-Kota Belud) said the election gave the people a chance to change the political model of country and he is all for a two-party system in the country.

On Yong’s ultimatum that his party may leave BN in August if the state issues are not resolved, Abdul Rahman said he believed Yong said it in good faith as he was only presenting the views of the people in Sabah and Sarawak.

Ghapur's warning to BN

Ghapur accuses BN of practising double standards

KUALA LUMPUR (May 12, 2008): Amid strong rumours of Barisan Nasional (BN) parliamentarians crossing over to Pakatan Rayat (PR), Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Ghapur Salleh (BN-Kalabakan) poured fuel into the fire while debating his motion of thanks on the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) today.

Accusing the ruling BN government of practising double standards, Abdul Ghapur issued a "serious warning" that BN would suffer greatly if this did not stop.

"Sabah mahu keadilan (Sabah wants justice)," he said, drawing a roar from his fellow parliamentarians.

After a moment, he corrected his phrase saying: "Sabah wants justice, not the party."

In a press conference later, Abdul Ghapur was asked if PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had approached him and if he was considering defecting, he denied it.

However, Abdul Ghapur kept emphasising that if not for the number of MPs from Sabah and Sarawak, PR would have managed to get the simple majority to form the new government.

"One-hundred-forty seats minus 54 from Sabah and Sarawak, there would not be enough to even form a simple majority (for BN)," he told reporters later.

He had also called for oil royalty to Sabah to be raised to 20% from its current annual rate of 5% amounting to RM500 million.

If approved, some RM2 billion, which "is not too much", can be channelled on an annual basis to help the state alleviate poverty rates and solve "a lot of problems in Sabah".

In his debate earlier, Abdul Ghapur said the BN did not listen or act on the complaints and issues of the people of Sabah and if the BN did not change its ways, "in the next election, it will not just be BN which will lose. Even I will lose".

In voicing the issues that inundated the state, Abdul Ghapur brought to light that the people in the rural areas drank water from the wells.

"If there is no rain, where will they find water? Even in the urban areas the waters coming out of the pipes are the colour of teh susu (tea with milk).

"Electricity supply is often disrupted in cities of Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. Is this the meaning of independence?" he asked, also raising housing, inflation, security and housing problems.

Describing Sabahan voices as going into the right ear and coming out of the left, Abdul Ghapur said East Malaysia were sidelined and it felt like the states were step-children.

"We are a country but we are made to be second-class citizens and maybe people will say that Kalabakan speaks like the opposition.

"The fact is, we have been doing this even from before. It also looks like Sabah is being taken for granted," he said, adding that "if there is opposition in the BN, accept it as it is constructive".

Abdul Ghapur said: "If a public referendum arises, Sabahans may prefer to opt to be part of the Philippines if the long-standing issue of undocumented migrants was not dealt with."

Sabah's dilemma

Crossovers still an issue (NST, 14 May 2008)

- Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee felt that supporters in the state would give the BN until September to resolve outstanding issues or face the possibility of crossovers.

- Parti Bersatu Sabah deputy president, Datuk Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili, said his party leaders had yet to meet the prime minister on the issue.

- PBS president Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said MPs intending to cross over must quit and seek a fresh mandate from the people.

- Upko president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok declined to comment when approached. "I will give a proper interview tomorrow," he said when met at the Parliament lobby.

- Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said there was no need to repeatedly assure Abdullah about the allegiance of Sabah BN MPs.

Talk of 'jumping ship' upsets BN reps (NST, 14 May 2008)

THE rumour mill worked overtime in the house yesterday as backbenchers wondered who among them was crossing to the opposition. If the story on Monday was that Sabah BN members were crossing, yesterday it was about Peninsular Malaysia backbenchers switching.

It was said that the big switch would take place today (Wednesday), with 15 members going to do it.

Here are some views from BN members on the rumours.

- Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau): "Let's wait and see. I'm confident whatever the rumours are, it will be baseless."
- Razali Ibrahim (BN-Muar): "It is an irresponsible statement by rumour-mongers as it undermines the integrity of MPs."

- Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn (BN-Alor Gajah): "No one approached me. All this talk about crossing over is just a form of psychological warfare by the Opposition."

- Salleh Kalbi (BN-Silam): "I haven't been approached. I have my own principles. BN has a proven track record but now it is time for them to realise development should not only be concentrated in the peninsula."

- Datuk Chua Soon Bui (BN-Tawau): "Any party has the right to do what they want but whether they will get any positive response remains to be seen."

- Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit (BN-Mambong): "My principles are very clear -- I will never abandon BN. It's just political manoeuvring by the opposition."

- Alexander Nanta Linggi (BN-Kapit): "This is all about integrity, and I personally feel hurt by the opposition's claims."

Datuk Eric Majimbun's Plea (NST, 14 May 2008)
- Take heed of Sabah's problems

I AM now in my second term serving the Sepanggar constituency, and my time spent at the August House so far has been, for the most part, a positive experience for my constituents and I.

However, like my fellow Sabah MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, there are some reservations which, for a while now, we have held close to heart.

The recent speeches by Datuk Anifah Aman (BN-Kimanis) and Datuk Ghapur Salleh (BN-Kalabakan) when debating the royal address were a clear indication of where we, as Sabah leaders, stand.

It is not that we are not grateful for the assistance the government has accorded our state, especially in education in my constituency, which houses Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

The crux of the matter is that Sabah's needs are simply not taken seriously.
The people have been, for too long, deprived of the most basic of infrastructure, such as proper roads, running water and electricity.

The Kokol road and the flood-prone Telipok-Kiulu road are examples.

These roads are key access routes for tourists and the public, particularly poor rural folk.

Then there is the hardship faced by fishermen in my constituency, particularly the trawler operators who are hard-pressed to find sufficient fuel to achieve their three-trips-a-week quota.

I was made to understand that the Sabah Fisheries and Fishermen's Development Corporation is given two million litres of subsidised diesel a month, but only 500,000 litres go to the Kota Kinabalu Fishing Boats Association.

Currently they can only go out to sea at the most twice a week, when they need at least 800,000 litres to make the quota.

The poor are not getting it any easier, with the increase in the import tariff for frozen meat by some 20 per cent on April 1 this year.

Imported meats, particularly chicken parts, have, for a long time been a staple for the lower income groups who cannot afford the fresh chicken in the markets.

As to how this tariff affects their lives, take the cost of grilled chicken wings at roadside stalls, which in the not so distant past went for RM1 each. Now it costs RM1.80 for one chicken wing in Kota Kinabalu.

We are not demanding for extravagant gestures from the federal government.

All we are asking is this - listen to our problems and make a serious effort to help us help the country.

Petronas royalties to stay

Dewan Rakyat: Oil royalty to states stays at 5pc
By : Reports by V. Vasudevan, B. Suresh Ram, Eileen Ng, R.S. Kamini, Ili Liyana Mokhtar and Joseph Sipalan
NST, Wednesday 14 May 2008



THE five per cent royalty going to Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu on oil and gas extracted by Petronas will not be reviewed. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Senator Datuk Amirsham A. Aziz, said financial considerations prevented the government from acceding to their requests for an increase in royalty.

This was because any increase in royalty to the states would eat into the 10 per cent royalty the government received from Petronas.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Alexander Nanta Linggi (BN-Kapit) on whether the federal government would look into increasing its royalty from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.

To another supplementary question from Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh), Amirsham said the formula involving royalty on oil and gas saw the government receiving 10 per cent, of which five per cent was given to the three states.

To the original question from Dr Wan Azizah, Amirsham said that between 2004 and last year, Petronas paid a total of RM26.839 billion in royalty to the federal government, Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu.

The Federal Government received RM13.4 billion, Terengganu (RM7.3 billion), Sabah (RM1.2 billion) and Sarawak (RM4.8 billion).

Amirsham said that based on current oil extraction methods, crude oil and oil condensates were expected to last 22 years while gas reserves would last 39 years.

"Even though there are many years for the reserve period (oil and gas) to expire, the fact is that the country also imports oil and gas to meet some local energy needs.

"Thus, the country is expected to be a net energy importer by 2014," Amirsham said.

To another question, Amirsham said oil production in Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak for the financial year ending March 31, last year, stood at 241.3 million barrels of crude oil.

Gas production was 2,081.4 billion square feet, he added.

He said crude oil and gas products exported by the subsidiaries of Petronas were sold at current world prices whereas the price for domestic sale of gas-based products for the electrical and non-electrical sector was fixed by the government.

Sabah CM says: Wishful thinking! Power crazy!

The New Straits Times, Saturday April 26, 2008

Opposition is power crazy, says Musa

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Barisan Nasional will not be distracted by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's claim that many of its MPs are waiting for the right time to cross over to the opposition, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said yesterday.

He said it was wishful thinking on the part of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader that Barisan Nasional MPs in the state could be easily bought.

"I don't think our MPs will compromise their political integrity as they had won on the strength of the BN," he said, adding that the opposition was power crazy.

Anwar had, during his visit here on Wednesday, claimed that it was only a matter of time before many of its MPs, including those in Sabah, crossed over to the opposition.

Speaking after launching the second phase of the Bornean Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation programme here, Musa said the opposition should wait for the next general election and stop enticing BN MPs to join them.

Japanese Ambassador Masahiko Horie, who was also present, said investors from his country were confident of the political stability in Sabah.

"I expect more Japanese investors to come here, considering the state's stable political situation," Horie said.