NATIONAL BUDGETS AS ‘PAPER TALKS’ ONLY'?

Dear Editor,

CHINESE New Year is a celebration of the family, a time of reunion and bonding. To the Chinese community, no matter how busy we are, however far away we may be from home, we should and always try to keep these traditions alive. For some of us who are working or studying abroad and cannot make it back for the Chinese New Year, at least we make it a must to call our parents and families back home. This is also to show our respect and care to the elders to maintain this custom and to renew the bonds of family and kinship in the Chinese’s way.

Year 2010, the year of the Tiger, was not a pleasant year. Globally, people living from different countries were attacked by disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, floods, landslides, volcanoes etc-etc which caused the loss of thousands of valuable human lives. Economically, this had also caused some of the Nations to lose billions of dollars and will take years to recover.

Political turmoil’s and political unrests happened in so many countries. Demonstrations could be seemed here and there by public to show their unhappiness. In serious situations, people lost their lives in the demonstrations.

In Malaysia, we were not good too. In year 2010 also, we had about 10 By-Elections due the certain deaths of the elected members of the Parliament and State Assemblymen and other political reasons.

In our own Sabah State, it cannot be denied most of the Sabahans are still living below the poverty line, even though the state produces richest natural resources among the Malaysian states. Agricultural sector, it is the largest palm oil producer, yet it is the poorest state.

There must be something wrong somewhere. Comparatively, the infrastructures were also very poor. Every year’s national budgets, some of them were only ‘paper talks’. Practically, we really didn’t seem the actual implementations. Take an example the so called ‘High Way’ from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan and then onward to Tawau. After donkey years, it almost remains the same condition.

In the Kota Kinabalu town itself, we can experience that a small fly-over can take years to complete.

The Kota Kinabalu City General Hospital, the Sabahans still ‘Hoping’ to see a proper and a public hospital be built by the Government after losing the old one after almost two & half years.

Recently, some of the ‘Taman-Taman’ in the Bandar Kota Kinabalu experienced the flash floods, partly was due to mismanage of the frequent maintenance of some of the big and small drains by relevant Authorities. When a complaint was made every time, it was sad to say, there would be always one thousand and one reasons to brush it aside, there are many other problem need to be addressed.

More broadly, we, the public wants the Government, especially those leaders who are policies makers will change their attitudes and mindsets in doing so, their grievances be heard and solved.

Chinese New Year is good time to celebrate our traditions and remind ourselves that our family, relatives and friends remain relevant in today’s modern society.

I wish all Malaysians, and all our Sabah brothers and sisters a Happy and prosperous Chinese New Year, the year of the Rabbit.

Best Regards,

DATUK LIEW TECK CHAN

Sapp Deputy President Cum Likas State Assemblyman