PITY SABAH LOSING ON EVERY ENDS

RANAU : A State Reform Party (Star) leader claimed that Sabah had lost every opportunities to Malaya and is losing even more as greed entrenched itself in the ruling elites who could easily find a matching capitalists.

Star's division head for Ranau, Jalibin Paidi, in a statement here said if one reflects long enough on this point, he or she would agree with his finding that Sabah had always been at the receiving end of Malayan mannouvres in the state, both politically and economically.

Take FELDA as example, he said, the Federal agency now has 300,000 acres of land in Lahad Datu and Kinabatangan. FELDA reaps around RM3 billion profits annually from its Sabah palm oil plantation. How many have we lost here for the last decades? he asked.

He said that amount could have easily compensated for the education needs of Sabah children wanting to pursue studies. Of course FELDA sponsors students too but not Sabahans, he alleged.

Now that FELDA is to be listed, what would happen to the 300,000 acres of land?

And what about other Malayan-based agencies, and state foundations, who were given huge tracts of lands in Sabah, he said. And this not counting the huge tracts of lands being given to Malayan private and listed companies.

Jalibin who is also Star state committee member, alleged that in the ruling elites' eagerness to snatch as much profits, now they don't even care if the lands being given away to companies are in fact NCR lands and that in many cases, native kampungs are trapped inside 'company's land' like those happening in Pitas, Beluran and Kota Marudu.

If Sabah leaders had put good brains at works, the state could have easily reaped these profits and therefore able to provide scholarships to Sabahans up to tertiary education and that there is no need for Sabahans to apply for the Federal PTPTN, he argued.

He also mentioned the tax and oil figures Star state chairman Dr Jeffrey Kitingan had always brought up in his speeches. "Last year the Federal collected RM22.7 billion in taxes from Sabah. It also colected RM15 billion in oil money from Sabah. That is already lose to RM40 billion a year, and only on oil and taxes, not including other remittances like fees, fines and other taxes such as road tax, but what is Sabah getting annually? peanut !," he said.

Jalibin said it is time the natives and all other Sabahans really ponder if they still want the same regime and system to control them or they want to get Star to lead the autonomous state to greater height.

The world is emancipating itself from oppressive governments. Here in Sabah we have been oppressed all the time on all corners, it is time we move forward to liberate ourselves and take charge and determine the future of our state and its people, he added. (STAR Media)