Reward or ignored after S’kan victory?

Published on: Sunday, May 19, 2019

By: Datuk John Lo

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The Sandakan by-election has come and gone. The record is outstanding. DAP and PH has won more convincingly and with a bigger majority [11, 521] on a lower turnout than in GE14, no doubt because of the efforts put in by CM Datuk Shafie and DAP.

This victory is significant as Sandakan voters have tended to vote for the opposition in the past. But this has not happened even though the government has yet to implement any concrete projects. They are being fair to give more time to Warisan/PH to live up to their promises.

This by-election is also significant in that Sandakan is a 41:51 mixed constituency of Muslim and Chinese. The huge majority has proven that voting was non-racial which is healthy. Sandakan has shown the way in this respect.

For PH, the Sandakan victory has been a big national morale booster. It has broken PH’s jinx of having lost the three last by-elections in W Malaysia consecutively. PH, please remember, Sabah has given you the most impressive by-election victory since GE14.

But this is politics. Let us talk economics. Foremost, I hope the Minister of Finance will live up to his promise of funds for projects in Sandakan. A promise is a promise. A broken political promise can be more expensive the promised sum. Let’s wait and see.

The PH government has announced in April 49 projects worth RM2.28 billion for Sandakan. This town, which by the way, is my place of birth, has been neglected for far too long. Original Sandakan town is now a Filipino town in almost every sense of the word. Safety wise, it is almost deserted in the evening. The natives of Sandakan have found safety at mile 4. These 2 places are like two separate countries. The PH government should seriously look into Sandakan’s security, economy and social fabric. The government should bring life back to Sandakan town.

Now back to Sabah vis a vis the Federal Government. I wish to follow up to my last week’s article in which I reminded the PH Federal Government of its statutory obligations of 40pc revenue share and promise of 20pc oil royalty.

Here I want to bring home two points. Firstly, a person, company and by extension, the Federal Government, if it has strong moral fibre, would pay or repay money that is statutorily due and/or promised like the 40pc revenue share and 20pc oil revenue. It is morally incorrect not to pay them, giving reasons of insufficient funds and then just go ahead to spend money on other things in W Malaysia. Further, it is morally inexcusable not to commit on a date of commencement of payment.

A statutory obligation is no ordinary obligation. In the case of the 40pc share of revenue, it is a constitutional obligation of the Federal Government to the people of Sabah. In ranking, it is the highest obligation of the Federal Government to Sabahans than all other financial obligations including annual budget allocations as the constitution is the supreme law of Malaysia. Failure to comply with this statutory obligation renders the Malaysian federation meaningless.

Now that Sabah has delivered Sandakan by election in a grand fashion, let us not be overwhelmed by euphoria and excessive exuberance. Let’s cool down and be objective. The question that I want to ask the PH Federal Government is – will Sabah be rewarded for being faithful to PH or will Sabah be taken for granted and ignored? This is a legitimate question for Sabahans to ask as in the last 50 years, Sabah has delivered support for BN [except briefly during PBS’s time] without question. For the unflinching and unfailing support in all these years, the BN government has side lined Sabah in allocation of funds for our economic development and zero efforts to promote industrial development. Sabah was suffering from wilful neglect. Sabah’s oil resources in the billions have been channelled to fuel development in W Malaysia. Sabah has been left high and dry. The only time Sabah has got federal attention was when Najib felt he was in political danger of losing GE14, he almost approved everything that Sabah has asked for. This was good while it lasted but not a healthy practice or in Sabah’s interest in the long term. We want to be allocated with an equitable amount of economic development funds as our entitlements, not at the whims and fancies of the PM or Minister of Finance.

Sabah has proven to be a reliable partner in PH coalition. In return Sabah should be treated with due respect as an equal partner. Such respect should start with: - [a] equal partnership with Sarawak and Malaya which is another election promise. This equal partnership, if it is to be meaningful, must go beyond passing constitutional amendment. Admittedly, such an amendment is legally necessary. To add oomph to the constitutional amendment, there must be policies and administrative machinery to effectively implement the amendment. Without them, the amendment is a toothless tiger. [b] Further the amendment, policies and administrative machinery are cosmetic without firm financial arrangements to be mutually agreed between Putrajaya and Sabah Government. Many Sabahans can remember that for Sabah, federal fund was not a right, Sabah must beg on bended-knees. As an equal partner in New Malaysia, Sabah leaders should not have to beg for Federal fund allocation. They must be given to Sabah as a right. In this respect, I am uncomfortable with the treatment from PH Federal Government as the Minister of Finance has refused to pay Sabah on the flimsy excuse of insufficient fund when he has dished out large sums for many projects in W Malaysia. He seems to have forgotten Sabah’s statutory entitlements and money promised to Sabah.

Let me sound out a warning now before it is too late. Sabah should and must sort out money entitlements with the Federal Government with greatest urgency. Sabah leaders must press home this point very strongly, for where money is concerned, it is every man for himself. Every state leader will fight for his own state. I have said it and will say it again – “he who controls money controls you”. He who controls you controls your mind, body and soul. Sabah has already experienced 50 years of being controlled for the simple reasons most of our past leaders did not have sufficient political will on financial matters. We have suffered greatly. We can no longer allow the Minister of Finance to say he cannot pay Sabah because there is insufficient fund. Sabah leaders have delivered Sandakan to PH with a most convincing majority, so Sabah is entitled to have firm financial entitlements.

The reason I am advocating urgency in our financial relationship with the Federal Government is very simple. The unprecedented success in Sandakan by-election can lead to Sabah being taken for granted once again by PH Federal Government. History during BN Government has shown this to be the case. Instead of giving our due, the Federal Government may shift funds to their political marginal states or shore up their political strongholds in W Malaysia in preparation for GE15.

If the historical Sandakan win cannot change the PH Federal Government’s attitude on Sabah in a more positive way, then something is drastically wrong in Sabah/Federal Government relationship.

NOW, with the Sandakan by election victory under Sabah’s belt, is opportune time to work on the PH Federal Government to quicken payment of revenue share and oil royalty.