Published on: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 |
Kuala Lumpur: A Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) backbencher on Monday chided the Federal Government in the Dewan Rakyat, saying the grouses of the people in Sabah should not be viewed lightly as this could bring about major implications in the next general election.
Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Ghapur Salleh (BN-Kalabakan), who resigned as the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment last month, also suggested that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reshuffle the Cabinet and give more important portfolios to representatives from Sabah.
"We want justice. Don't say we Sabahans are talking nonsense," he said when debating the motion of thanks on the address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Ghapur, who was once a Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, claimed that the State was still being sidelined and that the grouses voiced by the people through their representatives, had not been really listened to.
He also said the speech by Datuk Anifah Aman (BN-Kimanis) in the Dewan Rakyat last week was a reflection of the sentiment in Sabah.
Anifah had said that it was not wrong to switch parties or "to vacate a bungalow and move in to a terrace house if we are not given sufficient room in the bungalow".
Ghapur also described the Deputy Minister's posts offered to him and Anifah as "an insult" because he said Sabah, together with Sarawak, had saved the BN in the March 8 general election, enabling the coalition to remain in power.
Anifah had been appointed Deputy Transport Minister but declined the appointment.
"Sabah and Sarawak saved the day for the BN. But the three ministerial posts given to the State is meaningless to the Sabah people. This is an embarrassment to Sabah and should be fixed," he said.
Ghapur said: "A certain state was given seven important ministerial posts.
Another state, where BN lost, was given four ministerial posts; where is justice? We want the Prime Minister to reshuffle the Cabinet and give Sabah the important posts."
Ghapur said even though the representatives from Sabah might not cross over to the opposition, they might form new parties and "we can then have the options of joining them."
He said the matter should be given serious attention as it was something that could happen.
Ghapur also spoke about the condition in Sabah where many people were still living in attap houses and relying on wells for water supply.
There were also students who had to sit on the floor because of the lack of chairs in classrooms, he said.
Ghapur said even though he was speaking as though he was an opposition member, he hoped that the leadership would accept the reality and take his words as a form of constructive criticism.
He also called on Federal Ministers to come to Sabah and see for themselves how they could help improve the situation.
Ghapur also asked that the oil royalty given to Sabah be increased from five per cent to 20 per cent, and for Sabah news to be given more slots during prime time.
Met by reporters later, Ghapur said, he would not switch party.
Asked whether Umno was still relevant in Sabah, he said, Umno remained relevant in the hearts of the Malays.
"But if people no longer listen to what Umno has to say, then the party will cease to be relevant.
"If no one will listen to what I've just said, then a tsunami will hit and I, and many of my friends, will be swept away in the next election," he said.
Meanwhile, Rural and Regional Development Deputy Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said there were some truths in what Ghapur had said.
However, the BN had also been bringing development projects into the State over the years, he said.
For instance, he said, under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Sabah had been allocated a total of RM10 billion, which is the highest among the states.
The issue was whether the Government was capable of implementing the project, said Kurup, who is Pensiangan MP.
"Unlike in Sabah, the need for rural development in the peninsula is not as pressing. In Sabah, we are yearning for development," he said.
Asked on the cabinet reshuffle as suggested by Ghapur, Kurup said, the matter was for the Prime Minister to decide.
