KL taken to task for 'brainwashing' Sabahans
Joe FernandezPublished: Dec 2, 2009 9:31 AM | Updated: Dec 2, 2009 10:33 AM
The Sapp (Sabah Progressive Party) likens the federal government in Kuala Lumpur to British colonialists. Both, according to the party, "have kept the people of Sabah and Sarawak down for so long".
"Sabahans have been brainwashed by leaders in KL to believe that they are incapable," said Sapp chief Yong Teck Lee in Putatan last night, drawing a standing ovation.
The Sapp (Sabah Progressive Party) likens the federal government in Kuala Lumpur to British colonialists. Both, according to the party, "have kept the people of Sabah and Sarawak down for so long".
"Sabahans have been brainwashed by leaders in KL to believe that they are incapable," said Sapp chief Yong Teck Lee in Putatan last night, drawing a standing ovation.
Yong labelled the federal government as "colonialist" for its approach in Sabah and Sarawak. It has resulted in both states being marginalised and left out of the national mainstream due to institutionalised discrimination, added Yong.
"Kuala Lumpur followed in the footsteps of the British colonialists who brainwashed the people's minds when they were colonising North Borneo," said Yong. "The British made the people believe that they were not ready to govern Sabah and warned that independence was only possible through Malaysia."
The politics of Sapp is being increasingly driven by anti-KL sentiments as the party revisits the 1963 Malaysia agreement, among other issues, in divisional-level meetings.
Yong also blames "brainwashing" as the reason Sabah remains poor with 23 percent of its people below the poverty line. He also claimed locals were denied federal department and agency posts "despite being highly educated".
He pointed out that only two of the 22 district police chiefs in the state were Sabahans. As another example of discrimination, he castigated Petronas for denying top jobs, scholarships and business opportunities to Sabahans despite taking 95 percent of the oil and gas revenue.
The jobless rate in the state is put at 100,000, including 74,000 who have registered with the Labour Department.
He also noted that Sabah has been consistently turning in an annual economic growth rate of three percent, which is claimed to be among the best in the country in recent years. Yet, the state remains poor and backward compared with even comparatively resource-poor states in Peninsular Malaysia.
‘Spirit of Sabah Boleh'
The most glaring evidence that KL did not want Sabah to progress on its own steam, according to Yong, was the abolishment of Sabah Bank that had emerged as the largest financial institution in the state with branches even in Peninsular Malaysia.
Yong declared that the spirit of Sabah Boleh (Sabah Can) and Sapp Boleh would drive the party's politics as it stands poised to grab the reins of power in Kota Kinabalu. The party's aim, added Yong, was to create an autonomous state administration.
The most important first task of the autonomous state government, reiterated Yong, will be the introduction of a special Sabah identity card (IC) that will be issued only to genuine Sabahans and Labuanites.
The aim of the Sabah ICs, said the Sapp chief, would be to differentiate Sabahans and Labuanites from the illegal immigrants who have obtained Malaysian personal documents through dubious means.
Sapp pulled out from BN on Sept 17 last year, expressing non-confidence in the federal government and citing a long list of unresolved local grievances. An offshoot of PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah), it was formed in 1994.
"Sabahans have been brainwashed by leaders in KL to believe that they are incapable," said Sapp chief Yong Teck Lee in Putatan last night, drawing a standing ovation.
Yong labelled the federal government as "colonialist" for its approach in Sabah and Sarawak. It has resulted in both states being marginalised and left out of the national mainstream due to institutionalised discrimination, added Yong."Kuala Lumpur followed in the footsteps of the British colonialists who brainwashed the people's minds when they were colonising North Borneo," said Yong. "The British made the people believe that they were not ready to govern Sabah and warned that independence was only possible through Malaysia."
The politics of Sapp is being increasingly driven by anti-KL sentiments as the party revisits the 1963 Malaysia agreement, among other issues, in divisional-level meetings.
Yong also blames "brainwashing" as the reason Sabah remains poor with 23 percent of its people below the poverty line. He also claimed locals were denied federal department and agency posts "despite being highly educated".
He pointed out that only two of the 22 district police chiefs in the state were Sabahans. As another example of discrimination, he castigated Petronas for denying top jobs, scholarships and business opportunities to Sabahans despite taking 95 percent of the oil and gas revenue.
The jobless rate in the state is put at 100,000, including 74,000 who have registered with the Labour Department.
He also noted that Sabah has been consistently turning in an annual economic growth rate of three percent, which is claimed to be among the best in the country in recent years. Yet, the state remains poor and backward compared with even comparatively resource-poor states in Peninsular Malaysia.
‘Spirit of Sabah Boleh'
The most glaring evidence that KL did not want Sabah to progress on its own steam, according to Yong, was the abolishment of Sabah Bank that had emerged as the largest financial institution in the state with branches even in Peninsular Malaysia.
Yong declared that the spirit of Sabah Boleh (Sabah Can) and Sapp Boleh would drive the party's politics as it stands poised to grab the reins of power in Kota Kinabalu. The party's aim, added Yong, was to create an autonomous state administration.
The most important first task of the autonomous state government, reiterated Yong, will be the introduction of a special Sabah identity card (IC) that will be issued only to genuine Sabahans and Labuanites.
The aim of the Sabah ICs, said the Sapp chief, would be to differentiate Sabahans and Labuanites from the illegal immigrants who have obtained Malaysian personal documents through dubious means.
Sapp pulled out from BN on Sept 17 last year, expressing non-confidence in the federal government and citing a long list of unresolved local grievances. An offshoot of PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah), it was formed in 1994.
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