Sabahans poor not due to Federal, says Harris
Published on: Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh (pic) said it is the State Government that can make Sabahans richer or poorer and not the Federal Government, contrary to claims by Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Sabah State Reform Party (STAR) Chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan."It is hoped that opposition leaders will come to their senses and will not continue to mislead Sabahans that they are poor or unable to get employment because the Federal Government is colonising Sabah. "These lies must be stopped. Let's talk facts where the facts can be verified by checking the records," he said, in a statement, and went on to outline how Sabahans lost much when PBS and SAPP held the fort.
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Harris said Sabahans must understand their future is in their own hands and should act now to improve their lot rather than wait to be "decolonised".He said despite a few delivery problems occasionally faced in dealing with government agencies, it is incorrect to say that Sabah is being neglected by either the Federal or present State Government. He said these shortcomings are only related to policies and administrative matters and not the Federal or State Constitutions where the policies and delivery systems do not concern the law as there are matters for the ministries and departments to iron out. "The responsibilities between the Federal and State Governments are very clearly spelt out in the Federal and State Constitutions. As the highest authority in Malaysia, Parliament with its two-thirds majority can make amendments to the constitution as the Government of the day deems fit in the interest of the nation."Sabah has all the powers it needs to move ahead in all fields where the Sabah MPs are duty-bound to be the champions and protectors of the state at Federal level," he said, adding cynically that Sabahans must be happy with their performance since the same people are elected as MPs and state assembly members at every election.
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"But opposition leaders in Sabah apparently do not think the elected representatives are doing their jobs properly. Otherwise they would not be making frequent outbursts about what they see as the State's shortcomings," he said.Harris, who was formerly Berjaya President, said Sabah has all the powers needed to develop the state and more importantly to raise the standard of living of the rural people to be at par with those in the peninsula.
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He said the Federal Government has built roads at great expense but it is up to Sabahans to take advantage of these infrastructures. "Some particularly in the Interior and the West Coast are hardly used despite their completion years ago. "Some will likely end up being badly damaged as logging trucks are making full use of them." He also noted with regret that both sides of these roads are now covered with jungle rather than agricultural crops while the roads in the East Coast are fully used and both sides of the roads are fully cultivated with oil palm.Harris claimed that of the 10 state governments up to the present time, at least two had on record deprived Sabahans of their rights to own land and also to own Yayasan Sabah (YS) shares. "One of the shameful and unforgiveable legacies of Parti Bersatu Sabah during its nine years in power was selling almost 900,000 acres of agricultural land to companies from the peninsula – the very lands that the Berjaya Government had reserved for 60,000 landless Sabahans. "The actions of the then PBS government may have resulted in 300,000 Sabahans having to earn their living in the peninsula and Singapore, because they have no land to work on in Sabah. As Sabah is an agricultural state, only opening up lands can create jobs," he stressed.The PBS Government, he said, also acted against the interests of Sabahans when in late 1980s it demanded the return of 400,000 share certificates issued by YS with the promise that these will be exchanged with new ones to be issued in early 1990. "Sadly, PBS never honoured their promise." He also claimed that when Dr Jeffrey was YS Chief Executive Officer, he managed to get himself in Fortune Magazine claiming that he was the Chief Executive Officer looking after YS assets worth US$10 billion."On 14th August 1996, the SAPP Government completed the burial started by PBS by cancelling the rights for over 400,000 Sabahans to own the YS shares. Thus, YS assets of 4,000 square miles reverted back to the State Government. "This is a statement of facts, not that of a "confused man".Harris said depriving 60,000 Sabahans of their rights and entitlement to 15 acres was cruel and similarly withdrawing share certificates held by Sabahans and eventually cancelling them can be regarded as acts of 'mengkhianat' (betrayal) – dishonouring the trust placed by Sabahans in their elected representatives."Those responsible for the decision have deprived individual Sabahans the opportunity to own RM200,000 in today's market."Imagine how much better off Sabahans will be today if not for the treacherous acts of those whom they had elected in trust. Taking away of their shares may be the main reason why a large number of the rural people are still poor. "Coupled with being denied to own land already made available for them, is it any wonder that some 300,000 Sabahans are now working as employees (including labourers) in the peninsula and Singapore rather than being their own bosses in Sabah, generating wealth for the State?," he asked. Harris also referred to the purchase of North Borneo Trading (NBT) shares by Warisan Harta, a government-sponsored agency. "In 1998, Warisan Harta bought three million NBT shares at RM31.50 per share and tragically for those who were made to believe that the deal was an excellent investment opportunity, the share price dropped to only RM5.40 after few days. "Many investors, mostly city dwellers, lost their savings through this deal and the total loss was about RM300 million. This was when Yong was heading the State Government."Incredulously, the opposition leaders, particularly Yong and Dr Jeffery blamed the Federal Government on these three notorious deals that were not made in the interest of Sabahans," he said.Harris said despite the clarification, people still believe that the Federal Government was responsible for depriving 60,000 Sabahans from owing 15 acres of land each, the cancellation of Yayasan Sabah (YS) shares and the purchase of NBT shares. "YS was a trust created by the late Tun Datu Mustapha bin Datu Harun for the people of Sabah. The foundation had many honorable objectives, the most important of which was to share timber profits with all Sabahans irrespective of race or religion as announced by the late Tun Datu Mustapha when launching the Foundation. "Since its establishment YS have paid out at least eight yearly dividends. These were of great help to the people of Sabah at that time. Yong's cancellation of the rights of Sabahans to own these shares showed a great disrespect to the late Tun Mustapha who together with the late Tun Fuad Stephens had played key roles in Sabah's independence through the formation of Malaysia."These opposition leaders will continue with their false allegations and accusations against the Federal Government and seek further powers from the Federal List including National Registration, Immigration, Customs and Police in the name of seeking autonomy for the State," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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