PAIRIN IS NOTHING BUT HOLLOW

By : STAR MEDIA

THE STATE Reform Party (STAR) has described Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan's praises on the achievements of Chief Minister Musa Aman as hollow and an insult to the natives especially the Kadazandusuns.

STAR's chairman, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, said there is a huge contradiction between what Pairin attributed to Musa as best CEO and the realities on the ground.

"Here Pairin is glorifying Musa as a caring chief minister and being best CEO of Sabah for nine years but look at the pathetic situation ourselves and the state are in.

"The only achievements of Barisan Nasioal (BN) are in making Sabah the poorest state and added in more illegal immigrants here," he said at the launching of STAR's division of Beaufort which encompassed Kuala Penyu and Klias state constituencies here yesterday.

Dr Jeffrey was commenting on a newspapers report two days ago where Pairin, also a deputy chief minister and PBS president, heaping praises on his boss Musa at the launching of a book on the latter by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Juhar Mahiruddin.

Holding copies of Borneo Post and Daily Express, Dr Jeffrey said on the frontpage of Borneo Post was Pairin's glorifying Musa's achievement, but on the same page was a big story complaining Musa's government for not heeding the repeated calls for help by local timber mills which had run out of raw timber supplies as round logs continued to be exported by-passing domestic timber mills.

"Praising Musa by Pairin is nothing but hollow. Just look at the number of locals who had not been given Malaysian birth certificates and MyKads until now in comparison with the 40,000 children of immigrants who were swiftly given them in Semporna alone," he lamented.

He also alleged that under Musa and UMNO, Sabah has lost more rights and more taxes to the Federal Government.

He said last year alone, the Federal collected RM22.7 billion in taxes alone, but very little was given back to the state.

"This is not yet accounting other revenues including oil and gas derived from Sabah...so what achievement?" he said.

He also belittled the 1Malaysia slogan by saying it is more apt to call it 'syarikat didahulukan' and not 'people first'.

"Look at your land applications, how many years you have been waiting but no approval, they don't even process them, but companies can get their approval from this government in no time," he claimed.