Public anger at BN’s incompetence in governing the state has come to a boiling point.
KOTA KINABALU: Penampang MP Darell Leiking has called on the Federal government to get its act together instead of intimidating rights activists in Sabah and Sarawak with the possibility of them being arrested for airing the grievances of the people.
He suggests that Putrajaya release the Royal Commission of Inquiry report immediately and at the same time work on some of the other major grievances of the people in Borneo.
“Public anger at the incompetence and inability of the Barisan Nasional government in governing the state has come to a boiling point,” said Leiking in a statement.
He was supporting former Sabah Secretary Simon Sipaun who, in invoking the Biblical “man does not live by bread alone” quote had reiterated in a pre-Merdeka talk in Kota Kinabalu that “life in Sabah was better before 1963”.
He also deplored the police reports lodged against Simon for his oft-repeated statement on the plight of Sabah in Malaysia.
What Sabahans want immediately from the Federal government, according to him, is simple for starters.
Besides the RCI report, he identified the main issues as:
(1) recognition of Sabah as an equal partner of three including the peninsular and Sarawak;
(2) the Parliamentary seats held by Singapore before to be given to Sabah and Sarawak and the balance to be maintained i.e. 65 per cent peninsular, 35 per cent Borneo;
(3) an upward revision in oil royalty; and
(4) Borneonisation of the civil service in Sabah and Sarawak and representation in the Federal Civil Service in the peninsular;
“If Putrajaya had done its job especially over the last 20 years, Sabahans would have been satisfied with their position in the Federation,” said Leiking.
He pointed out that the fact that the Opposition managed to wrest 12 state seats and four parliamentary seats in Sabah from the BN during the 13th General Election last May, should serve as a wake-up call for those in the corridors of power.
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