'HALT' ORDER TO FORESTRY

TENOM: The Forestry Department has been directed to stop the re-delineation of the forest reserve boundary here with immediate effect. In this respect, the people who are facing problems due to the exercise need not have to worry, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

Musa said the matter came to his attention from the respective elected representatives here following complaints from the people.

Opening the Tenom and Pensiangan Umno delegates meeting at Dewan Datuk Seri Panglima Antanom, Saturday, Musa who is also Sabah Umno Chief, said as for the Imahit Forest Reserve issue, the Government would try to find the best solution once the matter had been decided in the High Court.

He also defended the State Government's method of giving land to the people through Communal Titles, which assured that the original people in the village would have land to develop.

He said the opposition's claim that the Government was grabbing the people's land was totally untrue and done purposely to poison the minds of the people.

He assured that attention would be given to requests of Umno leaders here to have several villages located inside the forest reserve to be alienated to allow the people to continue staying there like they have been for so many years.

Musa said the State Government was willing to listen and consider the people's requests for their benefit such as the construction of a bridge to link the Murut Cultural Centre to the Lagud Sebrang Agricultural Park.

Also being addressed was complaints by rubber smallholders about the hardship they had been enduring due to operational problems faced by the Sabah Rubber Industry Board (SRIB) over financial problems.

"We have contacted the SRIB General Manager Datuk Harris Matthew so that the smallholders can get their payment fast," he said. Musa also described the attempt by peninsula opposition leaders to teach the Barisan Nasional (BN) State Government how to manage Sabah, as akin to "trying to teach a duck to swim".

"They should instead, look back and see how badly states ruled by the opposition have fared," he said.

Musa, who is also State BN Chairman, said Sabah was developing far more progressively, compared to states under the opposition, particularly Penang and Selangor.

"The budget approved by the opposition government in Penang was not even up to RM1 billion, while in Selangor, it was only RM1.6 billion.

They are so much lower than the Sabah Government's budget of more than RM4 billion.

"Sabah also has a good track record in managing the State's finances," he said, pointing to the state's strong financial reserves.

Musa, who is also State Finance Minister, further referred to the Auditor-General's Report, which had acknowledged Sabah's finance management as among the best in the country.

He urged the people to reject the opposition and give their full support to the BN government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"This can be achieved if we prioritise the party's struggle more than the interest of an individual," he said.

Expressing confidence that Umno Pensiangan and Tenom would continue to be the strongholds for BN in the interior, he also commended the division chiefs, Datuk Abdul Ghani Yassin and Datuk Rubin Balang, respectively for their good leadership to ensure the party remained stable and strong here.

On the issue of 55 teachers throughout Sabah whose services had been terminated, he said he would look into the matter with a view to solve the problem.

Musa also received application forms from about 300 opposition members including former independent candidate in Tenom, Sim NC Rikin, to join Umno Tenom.

Later, he attended the Hari Raya open house hosted by Umno Tenom Wanita Chief, Datin Rahmahjan Khan.