KOTA KINABALU: Villagers in the east coast of Sabah who have problems getting the government’s attention have an international stage to turn to, said DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang.
Speaking to villagers of Kg Murut, Kalabakan in Tawau, Lim said the world now knows about the plight of the natives of Sabah.
He told the villagers that he had put out information (on his blog, among others) on issues affecting the natives of Sabah, including dispossession of their lands.
During his visit, a group of more than 50 villagers brought their complaints about the poor conditions they were living in and their worries about how they would soon become landless.
They claimed that much of their ancestral lands had already been taken over by plantation companies.
Lim, the Ipoh Timur MP, and several other DAP and PAS leaders arrived in the east coast state last Sunday on a fact-finding mission.
The delegation comprised senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, MPs for Serdang and Segambut, Teo Nie Ching and Lim Lip Eng and MP for Kota Kinabalu, Dr Hiew King Cheu, Sri Tanjung State assemblyman, Jimmy Wong and Tawau PAS chief Mohd Hassan.
Sabah DAP publicity secretary Dr Edwin Bosi said Lim had also assured them that he would raise their grievances at the next Parliamentary sitting.
“He (Lim) was sympathetic towards their plight and urged them to consider changing the government, saying that a Pakatan Rakyat government could give them and their children a better future.
“One woman who manages a stall told him (Lim) about the poor healthcare facilities and complained about the high cost of getting water and electricity supply. She claimed that it would cost her more than RM1,000 just to install a meter for electricity supply,” said Bosi.
Bumpy ride
Meanwhile, Lim also took the opportunity to highlight the deplorable condition of the main highway linking Sapalut to Kalabakan.
“It’s a rip-off,” he said as he travelled along the dusty, bumpy, gravel Sapalut-Kalabakan highway on the east coast of Sabah.
The project was a ‘design and build’ contract costing RM565 million and was supposed to be a 179 kilometres of permanent bituminous road.
The contractor was tasked with providing the design, scope of work and specifications to be approved by the government and built according to the approved design.
The government awarded the contract at the negotiated sum of RM565 million for 179 kilometres of sealed road with bituminous pavement.
The project was supposed to have been completed in early 2008 but the Auditor-General’s Report of the same year stated that the project had not achieved its objective.
Before the ‘design and build’ contract was given out, the existing road was a gravel road, built and maintained by timber operators for logging activities.
In March this year, the state government said that it had applied for an additional allocation of RM200 million to finance the Sapalut-Kalabakan project under the 10th Malaysia Plan.
Meanwhile, accusations of sub-standard work and poor quality workmanship have persisted.
Even in 2008, several of the newly-completed works were already in deplorable condition, according to engineers.
Based on the Auditor-General’s Report, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was urged in mid-2008 to investigate several irregularities.
Lim is not the first person to point to irregularities in the costly road project.
In 2008, senior PKR leader for Sabah Kong Hong Ming who is also an engineer said: “It is shocking and outrageous that the government could accept a RM566 million contract for 179 kilometres of bituminous trunk road only to end up with 179 kilometres of gravel road.”
Kong lodged two reports with the MACC (then known as the ACA) office at Tawau on July 3, 2008 and again at the ACA office in the state capital on Aug 11, 2008 listing out the many irregularities in the newly-completed road but no action has been taken thus far.
If there is not a lot of earthwork or bridge-building to do, a 179km road should not cost more than RM2mil/km. This road firstly is quoted at RM3.1mil/km which is too high already.
And they STILL screwed it up??
What’s the point of keep lamenting? Kick BN out in the next GE!
uncle Kit,
table the evidence to the parliment ,hard fact evidence . list out the companies ,the real culprit who robbed the people . probably list out the top 1000 rich people in Sabah ..
I think DAP being an established multi racial political party has a pretty good chance to capture the Sabah state government in the next election.However DAP must comb all rural and remote villages to reach and interact with the humble and simple kampong folks to telling them that DAP’s intention in Sabah is to help them. It must be accompanied with clean,sincere and capable local folks preferablyalso with a person/s from the constituency in respect to all rural constituencies ,as future candidates .I think DAP has already won the non-bumis votes in the urban and sub-urban constituencies and should spend pretty more quality time with the rural kampongs to win the hearts and minds of the rural folks before the 13th GE. Sabah,like Penang,is a winable state for DAP through PR. The only likely spoiler is SAPP which thinks it’s capable to capture the state government from Umno/Bn by itself.I think DAP/PR must find an agreeable solution or at least a compromise with SAPP to avoid a three conners fight in the 13th GE in order to defeat Umno/BN soundly.The Sabah people’s best chance to kick the Umno/Bn out is through DAP/PR/SAPP in the next election and I hope you guys won’t’ let us (Sabahan) down.
Such a sad state of sub-human living in Sabah after so many years in M’sia
Shame on MMK – what positive developments did he give Sabah in his 20+ years of PM?
There is a lot of hidden agenda since 1963 with greedy people getting more greedy so much so that illegal people are in the positions to take advantage of the helplessness of the genuine local people.
As far as land is concerned – a state matter and you think the Parliament is interested in this terrible affairs. Do you think the greedy state leaders would bother with what is said in the Parliament when some people are making hay while the sun shines as more local people become landless beyond repair.
You should know who control the land matters in Sabah for quite sometimes…and it is in my Police Reports.
There are complaints everywhere!!
What had DAP done with those complaints?
What happened to the complaint on Lawyer assaulting Clients in Penang with Police, KUP and AG silent? Even one of the DAP State Assemblyman said the CAT government would act!!
TWO YEARS HAD DONE!!
TWO YEARS HAD GONE??
Sabah people has stomach enough of BN/UMNO nonsense, and they will not take anymore baits. If jo pie ring attempt to betray his own people again, I bet he will lose his monsterballs this time. Sabahans are know for their fighting spirit, and they will rise to the occasion, with the blessing of God and Mount Kinabalu, and they will not tolerate anymore cheating by BN/UMNO … take the money and vote for PR …and save Sabah from the dogs …. long live DAP.
chengho, is your conscience pricking you! Repent you fool! or, you will end up in the same s#it hole…
Why was MACC so inactive with this matter which was reported to them. Do they only move their asses if the cases involved the Opposition?
It does not matter,be it ACA or MACC.They are bastardian set up to hoodwink the public.They only know how to harass PR but is ever ready to let off the sharks who are connected to the BN ruling coalition.They are nothing but ‘only sai,sai and sai’.
Why complaints were always “flushed”?
As government officials or MP or states assemblymen can always play dummy!!
8.3 had changed some hands, but
1. where are those complaints submitted to Subang Jaya State Assemblyman on the misappropriation of Land and Project on Wangsa Baiduri Project – the Boulevard!!
2. Where are those complaints to Selangor State Secretary on the misappropriation of Water Retention Ponds in Subang for Condominium Project but Club House and common area mis-appropriated into the hand of the Developer and turned in a Hotel. Land Title changed from Condominium into Apartment!!
Land office refused to provide document on how it was so!!
ALL ARE SILENT!!
What is 8.3 meant for the People??