Posted on

Neglect Sabah at your own peril, BN told

Two Sabah Barisan Nasional leaders issued the same warning about the heavy price that Barisan Nasional will have to pay for the continued neglect, discrimination and marginalisation of Sabah, but is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak really listening?

These are extracts from Malaysiakini reports on the PBS and UPKO annual general meetings opened by Najib in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday:

(1) Neglect Sabah at your own peril, BN told
Joe Fernandez
Nov 10, 09

Former Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) hawk Bernard Giluk Dompok fears that if the Barisan Nasional may pay a heavy price if it continues to pay scant attention to important issues in Sabah.

He foresees the political tsunami that swept Peninsular Malaysia on March 8, 2008 being repeated in Sabah and Sarawak if local issues are not addressed urgently.

“It is not an easy task to identify the root causes of a problem,” said Dompok, who broke away from PBS in1994 to head United PasokMomogun KadazanDusunMurut Organisation (Upko).

Dompok, who is federal minister for plantation industries and commodities, is of the view that the more things seem to change in Sabah, the more they tend to remain the same. Continue reading “Neglect Sabah at your own peril, BN told”

Posted on

UMNO MPs’ “ambush” for OTK foiled by Minister’s absence

The ambush by several UMNO MPs for MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat last night during his Ministry’s reply in the government winding-up of the 2010 budget debate was foiled when the Minister was absent.

The reason given by the Deputy Transport Minister, Datuk Robert Lau, who stood in for the Minister, that Ong was “busy” with the official visit of the Chinese President Hu Jintao as Ong is the “Minister-in-attendance”, did not go down well with the UMNO MPs concerned as Hu’s visit would only begin the next day.

Led by Umno MP for Sri Gading, Datuk Mohamad Aziz, at least three UMNO MPs questioned Ong for the RM28 million purchase of second-hand DMUs (diesel multiple units) by Keretapi Melayu Bhd (KTMB) instead of EMUs (electrical multiple units).

Mohamad even asked the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the Transport Minister for the DMU decision, which is the first time a Barisan Nasional backbencher had called for anti-corruption investigation into a Barisan Nasional Minister. Continue reading “UMNO MPs’ “ambush” for OTK foiled by Minister’s absence”