Najib Owes Rural Folks, Sabah And Sarawak, Time To Correct The Imbalance.

Hantu Laut

BN, won by the skin of its teeth riding on rural and semi-rural votes and battered by the rural-urban divide and massive Chinese votes swing. 

He would have two-thirds if the swings weren't of epic proportion.

I don't think the Chinese expect anything from the government. The Chinese being more independent and self-sufficient will know how to take care of themselves.

It is the rural folks that have been shafted for years that need help. They have been played out over and over again. It is time to correct the imbalance.

Now, that the dust have settled, Najib is in a bigger quandary on how he is going to reward his supporters.

His party won on the backing of rural folks and saved from losing the Federal government by the fixed deposit states of Sabah and Sarawak.

Would Najib return the favour ?

Opportunity doesn't knock twice, Najib should give greater care to those who supported him. From now on he should push for greater development in rural areas in Peninsula Malaysia and more aggressive development in Sabah and Sarawak. Without these two East Malaysian states he would have lost Putrajaya.

Sabah and Sarawak have the poorest infrastructure in the whole country. Bad roads, poor health care, inadequate water and electricity supply and rural population that live below subsistence level. Every essential items cost more than Peninsula Malaysia.

Sabah roads are in terrible conditions, bad construction and poor maintenance culture have made our roads as bad as any third world country and the situation become even more appalling in rural areas where rural roads are either badly gravelled or dirt roads, which become dangerous and impassable during rainy seasons bringing a lot of hardship to the rural people.

The same sad state of affairs prevails in other sectors like health care, power supply and clean water supply are just as horrendous. Port and airport facilities are still behind acceptable standard.

Only 39% of roads in Sabah are sealed compared to almost 90% in Peninsula Malaysia. 

The Federal government have taken Sabah and Sarawak for granted and neglected the states for far too long and it is time they wake up and take immediate remedial action to correct the inequitable distribution of development expenditure, or face serious retribution in the next general elections due in 2018.

No pain no gain. Part of the problems are Sabah leaders, patronising too much to Federal leaders, afraid of making demands  and wanting always to be in the good book of the prime minister. This personification of self-preservation have hindered developmental progress of the state. 

Unlike Sarawak, Sabah lost its claws the day they brought UMNO into the state. The state exists at the whims and fancies of Federal leaders. 

It is time for Sabah and Sarawak to make demands to the federal government to deliver its promises and better treatment. Najib owes it to us.

Najib should:

1.Increase Sabah and Sarawak representation in the Federal cabinet by appointing more Federal ministers from the two states. We want important ministries, not window dressing. There is no need for deputy prime minister. We don't want stooge ministry, just give us any of the principal ministries.

2.To build international standard dual-carriageway linking East-West and North-South Sabah and to be completed before the end of this term.

3.Allocate more funds to build and seal rural roads to acceptable standard.

4.Build more hospitals and clinics in rural areas.

5.Build more schools in the rural areas and build more residential schools in towns to enable children from the interior to attend secondary education that is not presently available in rural areas.

6.Provide cheaper power and clean water to the rural areas.

7.Complete the Pan Borneo highways as promised. The road should bypass Brunei for ease of travel for both Sabahans and Sarawakians. The present route that passes through Brunei is ridiculously cumbersome needing at least eight immigration checkpoints.

8.Increase oil royalty. We don't want the unrealistic and unreasonable 20% promised by Anwar, just increase the oil royalty by 3% to 8% for Sabah and Sarawak. This will help the states to use the money to bring more development to the rural areas.



Sabah being the poorest state in Malaysia may be a presumptuous assumption, not all that true. However, there are still pockets of people in the rural areas that live below the poverty line, out of choice, self-infliction of the dependency syndrome, rather than total government neglect. Idleness being a major contributing factor to such despondency. 



In many other countries if you own land, you are considered well-off as land can be your life-support, or even give you more than enough for your own consumption if you till the land and grow the right crop.

In Sabah, vast stretches of land in the rural areas are either left uncultivated, or rented out to migrants to cultivate. 

Many arable land are rented out to Bugis or Timorese migrant farmers for quick and easy money. It goes to show the idle nature of the natives here. If these migrants can till the land, pay rent and profit from it, why can't the landowner till their own land.

It is the government duty to provide infrastructures to every nook and cranny of the country, not just in urban areas. 

The government should pay more attention to rural constituencies and to bring greater social justice and development to the rural folks.

Anwar Called For Restoration Of State Rights Under True Federalism

True definition of a federation:

A federation (Latin: foedus, foederis, 'covenant'), also known as afederal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central (federal) government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of the central government.Read more.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sounded out a rallying cry today to restore the spirit of federalism, which he says has been abused by the ruling elite to remain in power to the detriment of the nation’s global progress.

“There is no longer any restraint on the centralisation of power to the federal government. The understanding of federalism, the rule of law and the spirit of federalism is being set aside for the sake of keeping the elite in power,” the opposition leader said in his Malaysia Day statement today.

He noted that the spirit of federalism — the system of sharing power between member states and a central administration — was one of the mainstays when Malaysia was formed in 1963 and was once upheld in the Federal Constitution, but stressed it was being eroded daily.

The Permatang Pauh MP pointed out that power had been channelled unchecked towards the federal government over the years, leading to discrimination in the development of the states, with some states remaining backward while others enjoy the fruits of their natural resources.

“It’s no wonder we see states like Kelantan, Sarawak and Sabah denied their rights even despite being endowed with natural resources,” the economist said.

“Sweet promises are being scattered throughout Sabah and Sarawak, for example, where they are regarded as a ‘deposit’ for victory in the elections,” the PKR advisor added in a thinly-veiled reference to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) alliance.

Anwar’s concern over the matter was likely triggered by widespread speculation that the Najib administration will call for snap polls in the next six months.

The next general election is due only in 2013, but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his political colleagues have been stepping up their interaction with the grassroots in a nationwide tour to drum up greater support for the BN, which lost its traditional two-thirds control in the Dewan Rakyat for the first time in 53 years during Election 2008.

Anwar noted the citizens of those “oppressed” states had become “indifferent and pessimistic to the desire to strengthen the federation” as a result of suffering unfair treatment over the years.

“Clearly we cannot blame them and should work harder to generate energy, thinking and aspire to eradicate discrimination.

“It would be unfortunate for the nation if its government acts to exclude and deny the rights of its own people because of differences in politics, race and culture,” said the 63-year-old whose ambitions to become the next prime minister are well known.

He vowed that his party and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will work hard to ensure justice to all the states in the federation, in bid to swing support, especially in the two East Malaysia states, to his side.

“On this day, September 16, 2010 let us together make a commitment to continue to aspire and fight to restore the spirit of federalism… to achieve the status of a sovereign and independent nation on a level position with other nations in the world,” he said.

Malaysian Insider

Exposing The "Tong Tahi" ?

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I am against clamping down on publications that the government is not happy with in exposing its "tong tahi" literally the "sewers."

I have mentioned in my earlier article that the rightful thing to do is to sue the newspaper for defamation which Felda already has.Stopping its publication only make the people more suspicious that the government has something to hide.

If the allegation is not true than the government should publish Felda's audited account in one of the MSM to counter the lies spread by the opposition.

Felda's accounts should not be a secret.It is a company owned by the people particularly the Felda's settlers and the accounts should be made readily available to the public.

Losing money in business is a common thing as long as there were no wrongdoings the people would not be losing their heads..Government should not be intimidated to not telling the public the truth.

People can accept genuine losses from doing business but not if someone is stealing from the company.Such crimes should be exposed and the perpetrators punished according to the law.

I am afraid UMNO hasn't change, the BN hasn't changed and the Prime Minister hasn't changed.

If they think this is still the best way to run the nation than my sympathy goes out to them.

Many thanks to the Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Onn for his "No political agenda behind action on publications" explanation here.

“It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” Mark Twain

Below is an opinion on the same issue.

Censorship in bad faith

NEW Many would have assumed that Barisan Nasional was serious in wanting to revamp itself to remain relevant in the aftermath of the pounding it had received in the 2008 general election. In the days which followed the ruling coalition's heaviest defeat, many leaders said that it was time to do things differently -- discard the old mindset, rebrand the component parties and take up the challenge thrown at them by the rakyat to change.

Najib Tun Razak, who assumed the premiership soon after the polls debacle, then came up with various innovative policies to stamp his mark as the new-breed leader who was willing to listen to the rakyat. In came the walkabouts in your neighbourhoods, the various measures of how the government would conduct its business and his brainchild, the 1Malaysia concept, introduced with the intention of making us, the rakyat, feel that we belong to this nation and that we are one and united.

However two years on, and after numerous self-reminders that BN needs to change for the better, things seem to be the same in this country, if not for the worst. The same old BN mindset of “I-know-the-best-for-you” is still prevalent. The same Umno-lording over BN component parties is still visible. Corruption, transparency, open-tender processes, merit-based university entrances and scholarships and even general cleanliness of our localities are all issues of great concern for the rakyat.

And more worryingly, the same attitude of wanting to remain in power at all costs is gaining speed. Just look at the manner the Home Ministry is handling the publishing permits of the opposition newspapers. All three party organs, starting with PKR's Suara Keadilan, and then Harakah's PAS and now DAP's The Rocket, share the risk of not knowing their future, for allegedly violating their permits.

If the BN government is truly honest about introducing changes to reflect its new mindset in governance, it should not be worried about letting the opposition parties print their organs. After all, these newspapers are there to carry out the agenda of the opposition, and naturally to criticise the BN government. What's wrong with that? Continue reading..

A Federal Disease ?

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It's unbelievable, it's so prevalent, it's almost like a disease, an epidemic of sort.

Over the past few years there had been a spate of defective buildings, sub-standard construction works and exorbitant costs overrun of many federal-funded projects.

Less than two weeks ago the roof of a stadium in Trengganu collapsed which fortunately didn't happen at a time when the stadium is hosting an event or there would have been many fatalities.

Today, it was reported that the three-year old Federal Administration Complex in KotaKinabalu sprung a leak from burst water pipe that damage computers, files and other equipment on the seven floor of the MACC (Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission) office.Less than a year ago cracks were found in most of the walls in all three blocks with big chunk of tiles falling to the ground.

The biggest bungle and probably a huge rip-off is the PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) project with cost overrun running to a mind-boggling amount of over RM12 billion.Even if you made the most stupid mistake it's not likely to be that stupendously expensive.Looking at the rogues gallery it appears to be one big MCA family involved in the project.

These are taxpayers money which rightly should be spent to benefit the people.

Najib needs to put his house in order if he wants to win the next general elections.

A Lying Minister: Sabahans Left In The Lurch

Hantu Laut

Nothing could be more shameless than what's happening to the health care in Sabah.The health care system is as sick as a dog and not because of lack of money but because some scumbags are trying to make money out of this malady at the expense of the health of the people of Sabah.

The apathy of the Federal government and the Ministry of Health toward this critical issue is most distasteful and a shame to the Federal leaders who still have not learned their lessons from the 8 March 2008 Elections.Making all kind of promises during elections time and conveniently forget to carry out those promises when they have won.Irionically, they have forgotten, if not for Sabah and Sarawak it would have been Anwar Ibrahim sitting in Puterajaya today, not Badawi or Najib. There are just too much and endless politiking to prioritise their own interests and leave the people at the mercy of the elements.Do they deserve our support in future elections? I leave it to Sabahans to decide when the time comes.A good deed deserves another and they have done nothing of that sort.As the Malays would say "Tak kenang budi" or "hutang emas boleh dibayar, hutang budi dibawah mati".

When the tower block of the QEH (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) was declared structurally unsafe a year ago the state capital lost hundreds of hospital beds, displaced the operating theatre, ICU, surgical department and other crucial sections of the hospital, throwing the health and medical care into utter chaos for those living in and around Kota Kinabalu.Patients have to be sent as far as Sandakan and Tawau because of inadequate beds causing logistic and nonsensical problems for patients,relatives,families and doctors.The bills for all this stupidity is staggering.

Adding insult to injury was the Deputy Minister of Health Abdul Latif Ahmad who came to Sabah and insulted the people of Sabah by saying no budget was made for the new hospital at Kinarut. This is the kind of minister this country has, think Sabahans are stupid and do not know what's going on behind the scene.

How could this liar say they have no budget to build a new hospital when it's common knowledge here that the Ministry of Health is negotiating to buy the SMC (Sabah Medical Centre), a private hospital for a whopping RM460 million. This hospital was built and completed about three years ago for less than RM200 million and with finishes that leaves much to be desired. One have to visit the hospital to see how bad the quality of the building is.

I have first hand knowledge of this hospital because my mother was admitted to this hospital for almost one month the first time and about 2 weeks the second time. It costs me a bomb. The private rooms are the standard of 2 star hotel but charging 5 star price.

This is not the first time this private company is in the business of selling hospitals to the Federal government.The old SMC at Likas was also sold to the Federal government at a pumped up price a few years ago.

Although it's a federal matters the chief minister should have a say in any project involving the state and people of Sabah. The present Chief Minister Musa Aman should not sit on his laurel but must insist on a new hospital to be built on the land provided by the state government.

In fact, as a temporary measure, the government can employ a quick-built system if there are sufficient land space provided by the state.This pre-fabricated structure and panels can be made locally or brought in from China where it is probably cheaper to make.The other alternative is to buy a building and convert it into a hospital. These are the faster and cheaper alternatives.

The most puzzling question is why the Federal government do not utilise about 30 acres of land which came with the old SMC which logically should be the first choice for new extension to accommodate the various departments that have been displaced by the closure of the QEH tower block.In fact, with proper design even the land around the present QEH is sufficient to build new hospital.All the low-rise buildings such as the TB ward, the nurses quarters,the stupid car-park, etc should be removed and to put up multi-storey buildings.

A hospital need not be a one-stop centre where every department is housed under one roof. It would be an ideal situation but not necessary.They can be in different cluster and in different locations.

Paying RM460 million can certainly build a bigger and more magnificent hospital than buying the grossly overpriced SMC and isn't it strange they have the money to buy SMC but have no money to build a new hospital.

Maybe, the MACC should do some investigative work on this case.

Sabah Population Explosion

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SAPP's MP for Sepanggar Eric Mojimbun said he would reveal the details that led to Sabah population explosion.He said the population has increased by a mind-boggling 285% between 1970 to 2000.

Sabahans have always complained about the high presence of aliens among the population and much to their frustration the Federal Government have ignored their plea to take appropriate action to rid the state of illegal immigrants.

Many aliens have been issued with Malaysian identity cards clandestinely by some unknown elements to fulfill their own political agenda.The Federal have time and again refused to look into the problems in spite of repeated calls by some Sabah leaders.Most Sabahans are at a loss as their pleas have fallen on deaf ears and the State Government has no power to deal with the matter.

The UNDP charts below would show that the fear of Sabah being overwhelmed by foreigners is not unfounded.

UNDP - Sabah Human Development Statistics - Upload a Document to Scribd

From the above charts one can conclude that Sabahans fear of becoming foreigners in their own land is real and if that is not enough it is also the poorest state in Malaysia due to years of plunder by state leaders and past neglect by the central power.

Although I may not agree with some of SAPP recent political rhetoric I believe an expos'e would be most welcome to reveal the truth and bring to book those responsible for this treacherous act.

The population in 1970 was 653,800.In 2007 the official figure was 3.4 million. The true figure of true Sabahan population would not be more than 1.5 million.To make matter worse the supposedly transient population had become permanent residents and multiplying faster than the local population and overwhelming the state public health care, educational facilities and other public amenities.

Don't you think we have become foreigners in our own land ?

Federal House Of Shame

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The building below is the new Federal House also known as Mini Puterajaya, where most of the Federal departments are located.

This is one of those badly constructed buildings built by the Federal government.Sabah was not spared from this shameful actions of those given the projects.

Since its completion about a year ago huge chunk of tiles kept falling off its internal/external walls and ceiling.So far no serious accident or  injury has occured.The next time you are there it may be advisable to use a crash helmet, just in case.Keep watching the ceiling, it may come down on you, if you are unlucky.

In fact most of the federal-funded projects seem to suffer similar problems.Schools and hospitals suffered the same fate.

There were huge hospitals and schools built in the most unlikely places. Where hospitals were short of doctors, schools faced similar problem, shortage of teachers and surprisingly shortage of students too.If that's not enough, sub-standard materials and shoddy workmanship added to the pain and misery to those who have to use such buildings.

Some of them were projects just to line somebody's pocket with easy money.Many were built during our former Prime Minister's time.The one below was probably planned much earlier but built under the current administration.

Note the scaffolding.They are now doing repair work on the 

defects.They may have to remove the whole facade and replace

with lighter materials.More money?

Below is another shopping complex that opened it doors about a year ago.Known as 'Warisan Square' it is owned by the same developer that developed 1 Borneo.It sits smack in the middle of town. Most of the shops here are the same as those in 1 Borneo but smaller in size.

The Politics Of Federalism

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Sabahans have always had an ambivalent relationship with the central government. This love and hate relationship goes as far back as the time of the USNO (United Sabah National Organisation) government under Tun Dato Mustapha Harun, a flamboyant, unmanagable and most feared Chief Minister Sabah ever had. The only leader of a state who had 2 stated-owned private jets (Grumman 2) and purchased another 2 customised Boeing 707 for his private use.At that time even the Prime Minister have to take commercial flights.

Mustapha, a tin-pot dictator was given wide-ranging power by the then Federal government under first Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman. His wide ranging power included the power to arrest political opponents and throw them in prison without trail.

Desirous of perpetuating Malay power in Sabah, the Federal government allowed Mustapha to do as he pleases and was assigned a special aide dispatched from Kuala Lumpur to be his special adviser. A lawyer by profession, Syed Kechik eventually became the most powerful man in Sabah, as powerful as the Chief Minister if not more.

He was also the most hated and was practically running the state on behalf of Mustapha, who spent most of his time in the play grounds of Europe and the Middle East.Mustapha spent most of his time in casinos in Beirut and London.

Mustapha not only collected private planes but also collected overseas properties, wives and mistresses at the expense of state resources. He was also responsible for opening the back door and allowed illegal immigrants to come in from southern Philippines to increase the Muslim population in the state and was notoriously responsible for mass conversion to Islam of some indigenous tribes in the state.

When Tun Razak took over as Prime Minister, Mustapha had become too powerful, completely out of control and was planning to take Sabah out of Malaysia and install himself as sultan. The authenticity and the truth of this story had not been established till today.

His refusal to sign the Petroleum Act agreement giving the Federal government and Petronas full power over oil resources and giving the state only 5 % in oil revenue angered the central government.Despite repeated attempts by the Federal government to get him to agree, Mustapha refused to negotiate any further. Razak was on the horns of a dilemma on how to deal with him.The Federal have to find an excuse to get Mustapha out of the way. The only way is to topple him democratically using his own men.

In 1975 the Federal urged Harris Salleh to leave USNO and form a new political party. Harris formed Berjaya with full blessing of the Federal government.Harris was later joined by Tun Fuad Stephen who resigned his head of state position and along with other Mustapha's trusted men ditched USNO for Berjaya. The machinery to topple Mustapha was launched and massive defections from USNO and other political parties to Berjaya followed.Election was held the following year and Mustapha was ousted.

The Federal backed Berjaya won the elections and formed the state government with Tun Fuad Stephen as Chief Minister. Unfortunately, Stephen, his son and some of his ministers died in a mysterious plane crash soon after his appointment. A tragic loss of Sabah's most colorful, amiable and down to earth leader. Harris took over the helm.

His first task as Chief Minister was to salvage the extensive damage to the state economy under Mustapha. He embarked on massive public expenditure to rebuild the shattered economy and made Sabah one of the most prosperous states at that time.His relationship with the Federal was excellent and helped in bringing more federal expenditure to the state. After a massive landslide victory for the second term of office and more than cordial relationship with the Federal, Harris got an illusion of invincibility and made some very unpopular decisions.

In spite of his success as a leader of a multi-racial party and outstanding performance as Chief Minister, there is a dark side to Harris Salleh, only known to those close to him.He can be very temperamental, aggressive and profoundly unreasonable.

The sacking of Joseph Pairin Kitingan, abrogation of Tambunan as a district, the giving away of Labuan to the Federal without any compensation to the state and erosion of state rights embodied under the 20 points was the straw that broke the camel back and one that brought him nemesis at the state elections in 1985.The election was won by PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah) led by the estranged Joseph Pairin. USNO led by Mustapha took significant number of seats and was later accepted into the BN.He later brought UMNO into Sabah and almost all members of USNO automatically became members of UMNO.

Having obtained a simple majority PBS reneged on its promise of a coalition with USNO and formed the government on it own but not before overcoming the cloak and dagger antics of Berjaya and USNO and attempted coup.

The thumping defeat of Berjaya must have shocked Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad who had promised Harris to sink or swim with him.Sink or swim ? Harris soon realised there was no such thing in federal politics, there is no love and affection only desertion if you failed.

The defeat at the polls did not stop them from staging an Istana coup to swear in Mustapha as Chief Minister in spite of the fact USNO and Berjaya didn't have simple majority to form the government.They almost got away with it if not for the interference of Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam who still have respect for the democratic process and avoided an incident that could have given Malaysia a bad name internationally.Prime Minister Mahathir was away overseas and Musa was acting on his behalf.

Sabah had two chief ministers for a while until the case went to court and Mustapha lost. The incident also brought violent street demonstration in Kota Kinabalu organised by leaders of Berjaya and USNO and purportedly supported by a few federal leaders.

Sabahans have always felt marginalised and remained at the lowest rung in term of economic development.

When it was in the opposition under the PBS government it received very little developmental expenditure from the Federal government.All development funds from the Federal were channelled through JPPS (Jabatan Pembangunan Persekutuan Sabah), which was specifically formed to avoid channelling funds through the state government. Trengganu got the same treatment when PAS took over the state in 1999.The double standard and undemocratic actions of the federal government is unbelievable in a country that practises democracy and a Westminster-styled parliamentary system. It is a brand of politics called Mahatirism.

In Sabah the federal development expenditure which used to go through the state before the PBS era is still being channelled through JPPS.Many Sabah members of parliament had complained about the way these funds have been administered and that many big federal projects were given to companies from the Peninsula with Sabah contractors only getting the crumbs, if they are lucky to get any. Most federal departments also deployed their senior officers from the Peninsula to the ire of Sabahans who felt they are as much qualified if not better. To make matters worse some officers were abhorrent and treat Sabah more like a colony rather
than as an integral part of Malaysia.

Sarawak didn't have this problem as most things agreed upon when it joined Malaysia are still intact and under state control.

In the 1994 Elections, PBS won the election with a simple majority of 25 seats against BN (Barisan Nasional) 23 seats. Joseph Pairin had to wait 36 hours outside the istana (palace) gate before he was sworn in as the Chief Minister.The PBS government only lasted two weeks before it was ousted by undemocratic menouvering of the BN. Majority of its assemblymen defected to BN parties with some of its leaders forming new Kadazan-based parties.Pairin resigned as Chief Minister on 17 March 1994 and handed over the government to the BN who won the government through manipulations and undemocratic menouvering. The then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad introduced the rotational system of chief minister among the major races in the state, which many Sabahans deemed as unconstitutional and an attempt to divide and rule.

Now, without two-thirds majority the BN government can hang in the balance if there were defections to PR ( Pakatan Rakyat) of dissatisfied BN members of parliament.The irony is the BN or particularly UMNO is contemplating passing an anti-hop law when it had in the past abolished a legislation by a 1992 High Court ruling on anti-hop in the 'Sabah State Constitution' that was passed by the PBS government on the excuse that it was ultra vires the 'Federal Constitution' and are,therefore, illegal and that it contravened the freedom of association enshrined in the Constitution.

What about freedom of speech, isn't it part and parcel? If the Federal Constitution allows freedom of association than it must also allow freedom of speech in totality, without any restriction,hindrance and persecution.

In March 1999 State Elections PBS still managed to get 17 seats against the might of the BN and got 213,432 total votes against the combined BN total votes of 240,110.It showed that the PBS had maintained its popularity.

On 22 April 2000, six PBS Assemblymen led by Jeffery Kitingan(brother of Pairin) defected to PBRS, a BN component party.In January 2002 PBS was re-admitted into the BN.In April 2002 five PBS Assemblymen who defected to PBRS returned to PBS.

The KDM politics has for a long time strive more on self interest rather than interests of the community.There are three predominantly KDM-based parties for a community of less than 500,000 people. It definitely does not believe in "united we stand, divided we fall".

A Kadazan friend once opined to me and said "the biggest enemy of the Kadazan community is Jeffery Kitingan, all he does is bring infamy and disgrace to the community for his selfish act, and the sad thing is many of our people think he is fighting for them tooth and nail"

In 2004 General Elections the BN won the biggest landslide victory under the new leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and delivered a crushing blow to the oppositions. It was Abdullah glorious moment and the beginning of his soured relationship with his predecessor, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

The bitter falling out of these two men would eventually weaken UMNO and the BN, partly due to Abdullah own faults and boosted by Mahathir incessant "remove Abdullah" campaign which has effectively divided UMNO into two camps.

The consequence of Abdullah's failure to keep his promise of reforms and Mahathir's unrelenting attacks on him are shown in the results of the 8 March 2008 Elections.

In the March 2008 Elections, Sabah and Sarawak outstanding performance were nothing less than admirable especially Sabah, which held both its parliamentary and state elections simultaneously, while Sarawak only had its parliamentary.Unlike Sabah, Sarawak stills control its state election and does not need Puterajaya's consent.

The was huge outcry of unfair treatment from politicians and ordinary Sabahans soon after Prime Minister Abdullah announced his cabinet line up. It didn't reflect the contributions of Sabah and Sarawak and gratitude for saving the BN from biting the dust.Without Sabah and Sarawak delivering almost all of the parliament seats, UMNO would, today, be seating on the opposition bench. MCA, MIC and Gerakan with whatever seats they have won would have abandoned the BN if they can't form the government.

The first to express dissatisfaction over the unfair treatment was the MP for Kimanis Anifah Aman (brother of Musa Aman) who turned down the offer of deputy minister and subsequently followed by the MP for Merotai Ghaffur Salleh who had accepted a deputy minister post but resigned two weeks later.

Ghaffur Salleh was initially dropped by Chief Minister Musa Aman but was later included in the list of candidates upon his appeal to Abdullah.It must have made Abdullah see red for someone he had helped to embarrass him in such a way.

At a recent Parliament sitting Kimanis MP Anifah Aman spoke his mind after being taunted by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi whether Sabah backbenchers were tempted to crossover to the oppositions.

This is another example of stupid politician asking stupid question and forgot if not for Sabah and Sarawak he wouldn't be in the cabinet and so are the rest of his colleages.There seems to be plenty of them in the Federal cabinet who think they are smarter but came out sounding pathetically stupid.

Anifah response was most appropriate and the most serious note so far coming from a Sabah politician.He said if there were no more room in the big bungalow what's is wrong to move to a smaller house.If you are ignored, marginalised and treated like a stepchild what's the point of staying.You can read "Anifah speaks his mind" here.

What Anifah brought up in Parliament has reverberated throughout the state with many politicians and the people of Sabah starting to speak up. Former Chief Ministers Harris Salleh and Yong Tat Lee have thrown their supports behind Anifah and described his speech as worthy of praise and support.

Harris said he hopes the Federal will take heed and seriously implement some of the ideas presented by Anifah for the two East Malaysian states.

The voters in Peninsula Malaysia had shown their displeasure at the arrogance and antics of those in power and there is strong possibility that Sabah and Sarawak would be tempted to change even before the next general election if nothing palatable coming out from the Federal government.

Sabah has lost its decision-making autonomy since UMNO assumed power in the state.It has lost the power to administer the state independently. The basic functions of government embodied in the State constitution are no longer the authority of the Chief Minister and the cabinet. Unlike Sarawak, it has lost its independence to dissolve its Assembly and call for elections.

The BN is safe at the moment but the picture might change once Anwar Ibrahim is elected to Parliament.

The kataks (frogs) waiting at the front gate at the moment may decide to change ponds when Anwar enters Parliament.

The Exodus 1975

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The Exodus

The above is from a Sabah daily, the Daily Express on 17th July 1975.

The federal sponsored Berjaya headed by Harris Salleh led a mass defections from USNO to Berjaya to topple Datu Mustapha Harun, Chief Minister of Sabah, the man who was accused of trying to take Sabah out of Malaysia.

Mustapha's USNO was later accepted into the BN.

That's the politics of federalism.

Image:Courtesy of Sikmading's Sabah