In an article on Borneo Post, Pritchard Gumbaris, the political secretary to Penampang member of Parliament and Deputy President of Warisan, Datuk Darell Leiking made a statement about the lack of transparency and inclusiveness on the state’s infrastructure project – Papar Dam (now renamed the Kaiduan Dam supposedly to be built at the Papar area, previously ear-marked at the Penampang-Papar border).
This was presumably because Darell Leiking made it clear that Penampang will not be touched in the state-government’s pursuit of dam-building. So, the Minister of Infrastructure, Peter Anthony decided to relocate the dam to Kampung Menderingin in the Papar river as the next option. This not only shows in-fighting within the Warisan government but also highlights the differences in opinions amongst state leaders. Now, the question is – would the MP of Papar, YB Ahmad Hassan of Warisan raise any objections or would he just tow the line?
These are just some of the inconsistencies within the Warisan Government’s decisions. Do the assemblymen realise that they were voted-in by the people to look after peoples’ socio-economic benefits?
Whilst we appreciate Pritchard Gumbaris’s sincerity, openness and transparency in raising Warisan government’s shortcomings, a clear message is being sent – that the Warisan state government in no different from its predecessor, the BN government.
People voted for a change to discard the draconian ways of BN and now it appears that the Warisan government, helmed by chief minister YAB Shafie Adpal and his team of cabinet members, have adopted the same draconian rule.
The Papar Dam episode is just one example where the minister of infrastructure, Peter Anthony, bulldozed his way in making his own decision without due consideration to the concerns of the communities, people of Penampang, and NGOs.
Just because Peter Anthony has the support of the chief minister, he doesn’t see a need to engage with the community and other important stakeholders. It seems he’s more interested in showing results in his ‘report card’ to the chief minister. Peter’s attitude is a reflection of the Shafie Apdal administration.
CM Shafie Apdal’s sincerity is questionable, and because of this, his administration is no different than BN’s. They just tow the line and follow the instructions of ‘bossku’. Some critics may defend Warisan and say the party is ‘allowed’ to make mistakes because they are only in their first term as government. But remember, in politics, there is no room for a single error, since once a decision is made it would create a lasting impact on the people, the economy and the state.
The people of Sabah cannot afford any mistakes because Sabah’s economy itself is not strong with the majority of its budgeted revenue being derived from taxes, levy, and so forth. The state’s revenue generation from its own projects is insignificant. There is no sustainability.
Therefore, it important that Shafie and his administration begin engaging with the people on projects. But remember, making false statements and misleading people during such engagements is inappropriate and wrong. Why is this being said? Because at a Buka Puasa engagement with the community in Sipitang, Shafie made promises and gave assurances to the people that all will be fine at a timber company after the Hari Raya holidays, when the company was facing financial difficulties.
Apparently, these were false promises by the CM because the company continued to face financial difficulties to the extent that salaries were not paid even after Shafie’s assurances. Where is the chief minister’s integrity, let alone Warisan’s? Are they sincere about helping communities, do they care about Sabahans?
If the chief minister and Sabah cabinet want to be sincere, then seek immediate solutions for problems faced by the people and communities. Don’t just make politically-right and ‘feel-good’ statements just because it is nice to hear at that moment!
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Berani Benar 