Dear Editor,
PRAISES for BN’s Tan Sri
Bernard Dompok do not justify the situation in Penampang as a lot of promises
remain promises. Maybe he might have done well as a voice for the KDM or even
for the Christians. But does it mean that he alone had stood for the people
that he is supposed to represent?
What about those ordinary
people who contributed their voices through their own means in the Forum, or in
other avenues?
These questions raced
through me as I read the testimony of KDM Jeffrey Ekol who went at length with
his praises on the achievements of Dompok.
What is evident now is the
future of the KDMs as a whole in the context of the nation and not so much on
what had been achieved by Dompok or for that matter Tan Sri Joseph Pairin
Kitingan in their struggles.
The KDMs are lagging in
terms of employment, economics, and noted to live below the poverty level, but
there still appear to be a lack of concern among the leaders.
Take the issue of KDMs in
the civil service and see how much those leaders did to help their people. It
is common to hear our KDMs envying other officers in terms of promotions while
those seeking employments had been unable to secure any appointment simply
because posts in the government or semi-government sectors had been filled by
relatives of those higher officers.
In scholarship, how many of
the KDM deserving students had been allocated with grants to pursue their
studies.
The same applies to the
award of contracts where most, if not all government contracts had been
allocated to non KDM contractors.
So the question of Dompok
protecting the welfare of his KDM people does not seem justified.
In the context of religious
freedom, this issue is enshrined in the Constitution and it is the duty of the
government to ensure that it is applied. That Dompok rendered his voice at
times is indeed magnanimous but it is expected of him as a leader to voice such
reminders and credit should not be totally expected.
It has to be said that the
RCI on illegal immigrants was due to the voice of concerned Malaysians in Sabah
and not solely due to the efforts of Dompok or his party UPKO.
The same applies with
Identification cards as there is a gross need for existing documents in Sabah
to be recalled for the purpose of issuing new cards.
This general elections is
all about the future of Malaysians, most of all KDMs in Sabah, and it is of
utmost importance for the community to decide correctly so that they will not
continue to be at the mercy of UMNO, being the dominant party in the current
government.
In Penampang, there need to
be a change in leadership so that the current monopoly of posts, contracts and
other matters in the district can be reviewed.
The more than twenty years
that Dompok and his group administered in the constituency or district has to
be changed so that the wishes of others can be accommodated.
Best Regards,
M. IGNATIUS
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