Sabah left out of flood aid!!! STAR queries Najib

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

By Matthias Hermes

KOTA KINABALU: The Federal government should extend flood aid to Sabah and Sarawak as well, said STAR Sabah.

Making such call, its Chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (photo) said this is only appropriate if the Prime Minister is serious with his national re-conciliation policy and to be a PM for all Malaysians.

Failing which, he said the Prime Minister should discard his 1-Malaysia policy and stop hoodwinking Sabahans with his rhetorical statements of appreciating Sabah and Sarawak’s support for Umno/BN in the last general elections.

He expressed this in response to the announcement that flood victims in the East Coast of the Peninsula will be given a RM500 flood aid.

“While not detracting that flood aid should be given to victims in the Peninsula, the PM need to re-examine and formulate consistent and wholesome policies and stop making impromptu decisions,” he said.

Dr Jeffrey was of the opinion that the decision by the Federal government to give impromptu flood aid was because of the on-going Umno general assembly, besides the fact that an opposition MP had been raising the flood situation in Kuantan.

“I am quite sure that if that opposition MP’s coalition had been in power, it would not have been necessary to raise the question in Parliament and aid extended unlike the ruling Umno/BN government where the Deputy PM have had to apologize for the delay in aid” he added.

The Bingkor assemblyman also reminded the prime minister cum Finance Minister that the funds at his disposal are the rakyat’s money and the ruling government is only the trustee guardian.

“The money does not belong to Umno or the BN just like some Umno delegates seem to think when suggesting that BR1M should only be given to Umno/BN supporters and not the opposition,” he said.

Noting that the majority of tax-payers are the non-Malays, Dr Jeffrey stressed that the taxpayers’ money ought to be spent wisely and not for political mileage.

He also contended that it was wrong for the Umno/BN leaders to constantly seek publicity by having press coverage for handing out of the aids with BN flags displayed all over the place, as if the aid was being given by Umno/BN and not using the public’s money.

“The federal government need to ensure fairness in their distribution of the rakyat’s money and extend the flood aid to Sabahans and Sarawakians.

“The call by a Sarawak BN elected representative is a timely reminder that BN also consists of Sabah and Sarawak parties and it also reflects the mood and feelings of Sabahans and Sarawakians,” he said.

He charged that the giving of flood aid back in the Peninsula and not to Sabah and Sarawak is just another form of unfair treatment of Sabahans and Sarawakians, following the unequal hike in the electricity tariffs.

He thus warned that the continued mistreatment and marginalization of Sabah and Sarawak by the federal government is just adding fuel to the calls for separation from Malaysia.

He further warned that if the federal government continues with the unfair policies and ignore Sabah and Sarawak, the time will soon come for Malaysia to comprise of only the Peninsula without Sabah and Sarawak or the reversion back to the Federation of Malaya or Persekutuan Tanah Melayu which appears to be the basis of the Umno and right-wing calls for “1-Melayu”.

“Or perhaps the federal government should seriously consider allowing Sabah and Sarawak to part ways just like Singapore in 1965 and focus on the “1-Melayu” concept in the Peninsula. As it is, the voices clamouring for Sabah and Sarawak to leave Malaysia are growing stronger and stronger by the day,” he said.

Borneo Insider

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