Kadir: Stop playing Santa, Najib

FMT Staff

 | February 15, 2014

Blogger Kadir Jasin says that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak may even risk losing his job if he does not stop bleeding the Treasury with his 'cash is king' approach.

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should stop playing Santa Clause or risk being booted out of office, said blogger Kadir Jasin.
In a blog post today, Kadir said that Najib must find a more sustainable way to help the poor as many Umno veterans he has met had voiced concerns on the prime minister’s ‘cash is king’ approach, which is bleeding the nation’s coffers.
“Najib has to acknowledge that things are not as rosy as being portrayed by the mainstream media. He has to stop lavishing scarce public funds on cash handouts and salary increases that do not contribute to productivity and sustainability,” said Kadir.
Since taking over as prime minister in 2009, Najib has introduced Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), which is a RM500 yearly aid to those earning less than RM3,000 a month.
He had also offered a variety of cash aid to civil servants and other types of programmes, from time to time, prior to the 13th general election.
Kadir said that Najib should address growing unemployment rate among Malaysian youths, which is affecting the bumiputras and the Indian primarily.
“In the age bracket of 15 to 19, almost 25.7% of Indians, 15.6% of Malays, 18.9% of non-Malay bumiputeras and  9.9% of Chinese were unemployed in 2012.
“In the 20-24 age group, 14.1% of the jobless were Indians, 9.9% Malays, 13% non-Malay bumiputeras and 7.1% Chinese. This explains the disproportionate involvement of Indians in criminal activities,” he said.
Kadir also claimed that the income gap between Malays and the Chinese has widened since 2009, erasing whatever progress made in the past.
“And the rural households, the bedrock of Barisan Nasional, are worse off now than in 1957 when compared to the urban households. Umno must remember that almost all the 88 parliamentary seats it won last year are in the rural areas,” he said.
Kadir is a former editor in chief for New Straits Times Press and a staunch ally of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Sabah rights: ‘Stop lying, Najib’

By Calvin Kabaron of Free Malaysia Today

| October 16, 2012

          

Najib Tun Razak should learn to view Malaysia and the federal government from the perspective of Sabahans and not as an Umno leader, says opposition STAR.

 

 

KOTA KINABALU: The State Reform Party (STAR) is stunned by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s claim that Sabah’s rights and autonomy have not been usurped by the federal government and that they remain intact.

 

The party’s Sabah chapter chairman, Jeffrey Kitingan, said the prime minister was either ignorant or being crafty by claiming Sabah’s rights had not been diminished in any way after the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

 

“How can the prime minister say that Sabah’s rights have not been taken away when it is very clear that from its position as an equal partner with Malaya in 1963, Sabah is now downgraded to become the 12th state and its Umno-BN state leaders are subservient to Umno-KL leaders?” asked Jeffrey.

 

He said that it was the manoeuvring of peninsula-based Umno and federal leaders that had resulted in Sabah being made a de facto colony of Malaya and Umno-BN leaders treating Sabah as their “fixed deposit” and treating Sabahans with disrespect.

 

Sabahans, he said, lost their political independence and rights when Umno manoeuvred itself into Sabah and misguided Usno (United Sabah National Organisation) into handing over power to its proxies and stooges.

 

“Sabahans further lost their rights to determine their own future through the evil ‘Project IC’ during [former premier] Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration which also resulted in illegal immigrants being given ICs and voting rights.

 

“The reverse ethnic cleansing through these illegal immigrants has affected true Sabahans in every aspect and yet the federal government has been dragging its feet on the RCI [Royal Commission of Inquiry].

 

“To top it all, under Umno-BN’s rule, Sabah is now the poorest state in Malaysia which accounts for 40% of all the poor in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the federal government had also taken over all revenue collection in the state.

 

“What is RM32 million for schools and RM132 million for infrastructures for Sabah when Sabah contributes about RM15 billion oil revenue annually to Petronas and for 2011, the federal government collected about RM22.7 billion in federal taxes and revenue from Sabah excluding other collections?

 

“The Immigration Department alone collected about RM200 million from Sabah for 2011. The federal government took away the right of the Sabah state [government] to collect its own revenue when Point 11 of the 20-Point Agreement was not implemented.

 

“Point 11 reads: ‘Sabah [North Borneo] should have control of its own finance, development funds and tariffs’,” he said.

 

Borneonise civil service

 

According to him, the revenue from Sabah’s oil and gas has been unfairly taken from Sabah when the prime minister’s father, Abdul Razak Hussein, in 1975 signed an order granting ownership of Sabah’s oil and gas resources to Petronas.

 

“If the prime minister means what he says, he should immediately rescind the vesting order and hand back the oil and gas resources to Sabah.

 

“Since 1975, Sabah’s oil revenue has been channelled to Malaya via Petronas to develop the Malayan states at the expense of Sabah.

 

“Recently, this was acknowledged by Najib himself in Sarawak that for 49 years, Sabah and Sarawak had contributed their revenues towards the development of Malaya,” he said.

 

According to Jeffrey, who gained a doctorate at the prestigious Harvard University, it was also well known and agreed at the outset of the formation of Malaysia in 1963 that “Borneonisation” of the Sabah civil service would take place immediately, but this was not honoured and civil servants from the peninsula, some not even experienced or qualified for the job, took over senior posts in government after the British left.

 

He said that even now, after 49 years, it was clear that the federal government had become the new colonial master and taken over almost all the key positions in the federal civil service in Sabah.

 

“The problem is compounded by the duplicating roles of federal agencies in Sabah to the extent that they usurped the roles of Sabah agencies. These federal agencies have even deemed it appropriate to import their staff, even junior staff, from the peninsula and marginalised Sabahans.

 

“It is all part of a devious scheme to control and make Sabah a colony of Malaya and Umno,” he said.

 

Manipulations by Mahathir

 

Jeffrey argued that the situation became worse for Sabah from 1965 when Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia.

 

The federal government, he said, through various schemes, manipulated the situation to secure 75% control of the federal Parliament when it was agreed in 1963 that Malaya would not have more than 65% of the parliamentary seats as a constitutional safeguard for Sabah and Sarawak.

 

The realignment of power in 1965 allowed the Umno federal government to make Sabah the 12th state in the nation and subservient to Malaya, he added.

 

“Even during Usno’s early days, Umno sent its advisers; it could not be said that whatever Usno did was purely its own doing.

 

“During Berjaya’s tenure, Sabah lost Labuan and its oil revenue. The then chief minister [Harris Salleh] seemed more interested in trying to please the federal government so as to achieve the political ambition of overthrowing Mustapha [Harun].

 

“During the PBS era, Mahathir showed his dictatorial side in sidelining the PBS government which was democratically elected by the people and even stopped Pairin [Kitingan] from being sworn in as the legitimate chief minister.

 

“Mahathir also induced the jumping of PBS elected representatives that caused the downfall of the PBS government and used his dictatorial powers to put his opponents in jail under the draconian ISA,” said Jeffrey, the younger brother of current deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin.

 

He reminded Najib that the rotation system of the chief minister was then introduced against the Sabah constitution to induce and later trap the other BN leaders while, at the same time, gerrymandering the electoral boundaries to create additional seats for Umno and make it the single largest Barisan Nasional coalition component with 32 out of 60 seats.

 

“With the Project IC then at its height, the takeover of Sabah by the federal Umno government was complete.

 

“Why is the prime minister turning a blind eye to these testimonies of loss of Sabah’s rights?” he asked.

 

No religious freedom

 

Jeffrey also touched on the loss of religious freedom in Sabah.

 

Jeffrey, who was jailed under the Internal Security Act (ISA) during Mahathir’s time for speaking up on Sabah’s rights, also reminded Najib and Umno that freedom of religion was guaranteed by Point No 1 of the 20-Point Agreement as well as the Batu Sumpah (Oath Stone) in Keningau.

 

“The fact that Sabahans today no longer enjoy freedom of religion clearly suggests that they have been robbed of this right.

 

“In addition, there is a steady creeping in of the ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ policy where new imported Malays are accorded better rights than the original indigenous natives, many of whom are Muslims,” he said.

 

Jeffrey also said that if Najib is correct in his claim that Sabah had received development and progress similar to its counterparts in Malaya, then surely Sabah would be one of the richest states in Malaysia, if not the richest.

 

“If the prime ministere had only opened his eyes to his surroundings when officiating at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Native Court Training Institute building and the opening of the bridge at Padang Pagansakan in Penampang, he would notice that the development of the surrounding areas including roads, bridges and other infrastructure is not on par with the peninsular states.

 

“And that is only 10 miles from Kota Kinabalu city centre. He should then imagine how much below par is the development status in the other areas, especially in the interiors like far-flung Pensiangan,” he said.

 

“Or better still, he should travel by road instead of helicopter to see for himself the status of development in Sabah,” Jeffrey added, taking a swipe at Najib for travelling around the state by air.

 

Malaysia is not 55

 

Touching on the federal stand that Malaysia is 55 years old, Jeffrey said by insisting Malaysia is 55 years old now and not 49, the federal government is propagating the worst lie to the people of Sabah, Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole.

 

“What is the motive of the Umno federal government in manipulating the facts of history? The prime minister should restore Sabah’s rights and not lie anymore.

 

“He should learn how to view Malaysia and the federal government from the perspective of Sabahans and not just from the top as an Umno leader with a Malayan Agenda,” he said.

 

“Sabah has lost a lot since agreeing to form Malaysia in 1963 and suffered a great deal due to the manipulations and policies of the Umno federal government in the name of national integration; the federal government of Malaya has ruled the state in the guise of the federal government of Malaysia.

 

“There was never a genuine partnership for Sabah in Malaysia.

 

“The federal government has disrespected the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the autonomy and rights of Sabah. After 49 years of an unequal partnership and treatment, Sabahans are now clamouring for the restoration of their rights and autonomy,” Jeffrey said, adding that the prime minister and the federal government should stop treating Sabahans as fools.

 

Taking a swipe at Najib’s Budget 2013, he said it was nothing to shout about for Sabahans. “Sabahans deserve more than 1Malaysia water tanks and BRIMs.

 

“What the prime minister can and should do, if he truly wants to make a difference… is to restore the rights and autonomy of Sabah and the status of Sabah as an equal partner to Malaya… and to treat Sabahans with respect and dignity,” he said

Anwar shadows Najib to drum change for Sabah

By Luke Rintod HERE

| October 10, 2012

          

Umno and BN leaders know that there is little love lost in Sabah for the ruling coalition as people continue to feel the effects of higher prices.

 

KOTA KINABALU: Wherever Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak goes, the silhouette of a senior Pakatan Rakyat leader is never too far away from him and the same will happen when he visits Sabah this weekend.

 

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is due in Sabah this Friday on a weekend visit a day ahead of a two-day visit by the premier who will be in the state to shore up support for his Barisan Nasional coalition.

 

However, while the state administration has announced Najib’s itinerary in Penampang, Kundasang and Kudat, Anwar’s visit is lower-profile.

 

According to PKR vice president Tian Chua, he will accompany Anwar this Friday to visit the interior Sabah parliamentary districts of Keningau, Tenom and Pensiangan.

 

“Anwar and I are coming this Friday to Tenom, Pensiangan and Keningau to rally support for the party,” he texted in reply to a FMT query on whether opposition leaders would be in Sabah at the same time as Najib as has been the practice.

 

According to local PKR leaders, Anwar will reiterate Pakatan’s pledges to Sabah it made in its shadow budget for 2013 if it wins the coming general election.

 

“They are expected to mount assaults against the Umno regime and the leadership of Musa Aman as Sabah’s Chief Minister,” said a PKR leader here.

 

The opposition party leaders are also expected to drag Umno’s strongest ally in the Sabah BN government, Parti Bersatu Sabah, into the conflict.

 

“It will definitely be along those lines. We will expose more wrong-doings and yes PBS leaders including (Joseph) Pairin will be dragged in as accomplices and accessories to all the abuse of power and public funds by virtue of their support for Umno,” said another PKR leader.

 

Najib is on his fifth visit to Sabah this year. His previous visits to the state also corresponded with that of Pakatan leaders Lim Kit Siang of DAP and Awang Hadi of PAS.

 

BN leaders worried
While Najib has publicly declared that he is confident BN would retain power in Sabah and showed this by ignoring the state to a large extent in his recent 2013 Budget, BN leaders here are privately concerned with the growing dissatisfaction by Sabahans about the low level of development of their state.

 

The indications that opposition is gaining growing support in the BN’s ‘fixed deposit’ state is reflected in Najib’s repeated visits to Sabah where 25 parliamentary seats are up for grabs in the looming elections.

 

Local and national leaders have also grown more sensitive to allegations of corruption and arrogance as the countdown to the elections that must be called by April next year begins.

Anwar and his Pakatan coalition on the other hand have announced sweeteners for the state to ditch the ruling coalition as they have done in the past.

 

Umno and BN leaders know that there is little love lost in Sabah for the ruling coalition as people continue to feel the effects of having to pay more for food and basic items as the government cuts back on subsidies in response to a slowing global economy.

 

Pakatan has promised to increase of oil royalty payment to the poverty-stricken state from 5% to 20% if it forms the federal government and is something Sabahans have been demanding for decades after state leaders inexplicably surrendered the state’s resources.

Meanwhile, it is rumoured that scores of Sabah leaders including another corporate leader, would announce their entry into PKR during Anwar’s visit.

 

Top of the list is Dr Richard Gunting, a Murut leader, who was the general manager of state-owned Koperasi Pembangunan Desa (KPD).

 

According to insiders, Gunting is a potential PKR candidate for the Tenom seat.

Najib in Sabah

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will make a two-day official visit to Sabah starting Saturday.

Najib, who will be accompanied by his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, is scheduled to open three meetings of Barisan Nasional component parties in Sabah during the visit.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman told reporters here on Friday that Najib would open the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) congress at a hotel upon arrival in Kota Kinabalu.

On Sunday, he would attend the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) congress at 1Borneo, near here, have lunch with Sabah Umno leaders and open the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) national convention at the Penampang Cultural Centre hall before returning to Kuala Lumpur. - Bernama