Support Hajiji on the ‘Sabahans First’ policy
Published on: Sunday, January 24, 2021
By: Datuk John Lo
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Are Sabahan graduates and professionals inferior?
What’s wrong with our graduates? They have graduated from the same universities in Malaysia. For those who have had an overseas education, Sabahan graduates have shown they can and are on par with graduates in W Malaysia and Singapore who have studied in the same universities in UK, Australia and USA. How is it that when they return to Sabah, they become 3rd class? Whereas graduates in KL can become first class? Is the government to be blamed? Or the Sabahan graduates? Or both? Time for our political leaders and the educated intelligentsia to ponder on this burning issue and chart a new course.
Why are Sabahans 3rd class?
If so, why? If not, what are the logical reasons for the sorry state of affairs? Why have Sabahans accepted the “3rd class” situation? Are they of our own making? Why are Sabahans incapable of defending our economic rights and interests. We must confront the causes head on or else, we will continue to rot where we are now, down at the bottom of the pile. Do Sabahans enjoy or take pride in rotting away, watching our wealth being taken away? Are Sabahans so dumb that they don’t know that only a bleak future awaits our future generations if we fail to address and redress the present very bad economic situation? We must address it here and now or else it will be too late.
Sabahan businessmen are overtly parochial, provincial.
During Berjaya days when Tan Sri Harris was CM, Sabahan businessmen were on par or better than many in Malaysia. Many successful ones have become multi-millionaires in their own right. The most outstanding till today is the Hap Seng Group which has outgrown Sabah, moved its HQ in KL and expanded vastly overseas. Tan Sri Majid Khan who has founded a regional furniture empire, is another prominent Sabahan in W Malaysia. The first question to ask is why Sabah has not been able to retain Hap Seng, Tan Sri Majid?
The Sabah government should delve into this most important issue. We must find the answer so that we can retain our very own successful businessmen in Sabah. If we cannot retain our own outstanding sons and daughters, how can we attract successful foreigners to invest in Sabah?
There are very few successful Sabahan businessmen in Sabah nowadays. Unfortunately, their success is very moderate by Malaysian national standard. How many control PLCs in KLSE? Have they run out of steam? Too much in their comfort zone? Lack of opportunities in Sabah? No conducive policies to spur them to expand their empire in Sabah? These are critical issues. If Sabah has many multi-millionaires, multi-billionaires, Sabah can be much more prosperous and can have more jobs.
Sub-Sub-Sub-Contractors in Sabah.
Since highlighting the quandary of the Sabahan contractor in the sky bridge project in KK, many have told me that they have been facing this dilemma for a long time. Most of them can only get jobs by being a sub-contractor. Now I can recall that this situation has not changed for more than 30 years. Some of them are way down the food chain in the government contract business. In one case that I know, one Sabahan contractor became the sub-sub-sub-sub-sub- sub-contractor. Yes, you have not misread. He was the 6th level down in this sub-contractor game! He faced a frightening nightmare collecting his money. In the end, he was short-changed and lost money.
Sabahan contractors have little chance of winning any first-hand contract from the federal government cos of vested interests being able to “fix it” or predetermine awards in KL.
Sabahan suppliers are facing similar problems, being owed and not paid for credits that they have given to outside contractors.
I don’t profess to have all the answers. For sure I know is that we don’t solve this “Sabahans last” situation, Sabahans are sitting ducks in this game.
What’s wrong with our Professionals.
Our professionals like the architects, engineers, valuers, doctors etc have gone to the same universities as the professionals in W Malaysia. They belong to the same professional bodies in Malaysia and overseas. Why this inferior complex?
The lawyers, being protected by law, are in a better position. The State government has given protection to the architects. The local authorities require Sabah architects’ signature for submission. Instead of using this requirement to further their professional careers, some have become the “submission architects” or “signing architects” for non-Sabahan architects.
This practice of just taking up a pen and signing the paper for a paltry fee must stop. They should be involved in a meaningful way. They are qualified architects, not signature hawkers. They can’t just simply sell their signatures.
Better still, they should be the lead professionals for projects in Sabah. Where and if absolutely required for overseas expertise, they should engage and let foreign consultants work under them. The current system of our professional playing a subservient role in our own turf must stop.
Reasons for the prevailing unsatisfactory situation.
I don’t pretend to have the solutions to this very complex problem. No need to reinvent the wheel. Look at how other successful states and Singapore have done.
Some outstanding common features can be found in these states and Singapore. These are mostly absent in Sabah. [a] Close liaison and common objectives between the government and private sector. [b] Government has established an explicit or implicit preference/protection for their private sector players. [c] Government gives preference to local contractors and/or professionals/businessmen for government projects, procurement and tenders. In Sabah, they have been overlooked and can become sub-contractors only because “decisions” on awards already fixed in favour of certain parties, often citing insufficient capacity from Sabahans to perform.
The fact of the matter is that Sabahans, being relegated to sub-sub-contractors end up doing the work with the skimpiest profit and largest risks of losses.
Yet the irony is that the actual work is done by Sabahan sub-contractors.
DSP Hajiji welcomes constructive ideas on “Sabahans First” policy.
I am 100pc certain that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with Sabahan professionals, businessmen and contractors. But we must have faith and confidence that we can be just as good and can strive to be the best.
If Sabahans are to improve the 30-year-old unsatisfactory under-dog predicament, we must discard “every man for himself” mentality. Sabahans can unite and stride forward under DSP Hajiji for he is anxious to work for all Sabahans’ economic interest. DSP Hajiji has said he is CM for all Sabahans, irrespective of race, religion and political affiliation.
We will not get anyway by thinking we can overcome the problems facing us by complaining privately or cocooning in our respective comfort zones expecting them to go away. They won’t. The time to unite for a speedy economic recovery and a brighter economic future is now!
Under DSP Hajiji’s leadership, the government has encouraged Sabahans to enhance co-operation among themselves which has led to some of these exciting happenings
[a] To birth a “professional services hub” in Kota Kinabalu to enhance capacity and eventually to export their services.
[b] The Sabah Law Society is coming up with an arbitration centre which will greatly facilitate future commercial developments in Sabah. These are encouraging, commendable initiatives from Sabah Law Society and other professional bodies.
[c] Some tree plantation owners have produced an exciting plan for the establishment of a tree plantation industry and related downstream that will prove the oil palm plantation owners wrong for their refusal to employ Sabahans and to establish down-stream in Sabah.
[d] Young Entrepreneurs have produced proposals to expand their businesses. [e] Likewise, Sabahan contractors and/or businessmen can form consortia to undertake bigger and more complex projects to eliminate non-Sabahan parties muscling into their business domain.
Most importantly, all political leaders in government and opposition alike, can unite and provide the bi-partisan support for the initiative of the “Sabahans First” policy. This can send the right signal to Putrajaya and throughout our home land of Sabah the message of hope that “things have changed for the better in Sabah”. The political leaders owe all Sabahans this much-needed, anxiously and long-awaited transformation.
No option. The only solution to retain and produce more wealth for Sabahans is for the Sabah government and all Sabahans to establish a solid economic bond of unity, to undertake a united endeavour of expanding Sabah’s economy and regaining our economic pride such as we had when Tan Sri Harris was CM.
Establishment of the Sabahans First Policy and its judicious implementation.
A pragmatic, well designed “Sabahans First” policy and its judicious implementation can re-establish and restore our economic fundamental strength, ensure a good economic future for our children and grandchildren. Such a policy is appropriate and overdue. If we don’t use our economic assets to benefit Sabahans, who will do it for us? No apologists for this policy necessary.
Sabah’s economic assets belong to all Sabahans, Sabahans should be in charge of these economic assets to benefit Sabahans.
I am quite certain that DSP Hajiji would welcome constructive support and ideas/proposals to formulate this comprehensive “Sabahans first” policy.
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