KUALA LUMPUR – There will always be a development gap between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak if the centralisation of power remains in Putrajaya, said Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau.
The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) president said that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, in his royal address in Parliament, also said Sabah and Sarawak are 10 years behind states in the peninsula.
“As long as the national development planning does not focus on Sabah, the state will remain the least developed territory in Malaysia.
“This is despite the state gross domestic product per capita increasing to US$5,000 (RM20,793), half of the national GDP at US$10,000,” he said in Parliament today.
Tangau said there is nothing new in the programmes under the 12th Malaysia Plan – only a list of projects that will not bring about change and transformation.
“For example, how will Sabah’s economy be enhanced without drastic improvements to its transportation, infrastructure and logistics sector, especially its ports, which can attract international ships to call in?
“Imagine the gap between the Tg Pelepas port in Johor, which has 54 operating cranes and a 5km dock, while Sepanggar Port only has five cranes with a 500m dock.
“The turnaround time at Sepanggar Port is also longer and only four ships can call at any one time,” he said.
Tangau said there has not been any international shipping companies registering to pick up containers from the local port, even though the cabotage policy was relaxed in 2017.
On another note, the former Sabah deputy chief minister also proposed that Peninsular Malaysia takes its turn to host the Malaysia Day celebrations, not just Sabah and Sarawak, which has been doing it since 2011.
He added that Putrajaya should also declassify the final report of the cabinet special committee on the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), as details of the report should be historic documents, not hidden away under the Official Secrets Act.
Tangau also said that the government should reveal how it plans to implement Sabah and Sarawak’s demands.
The previous Pakatan Harapan government, he said, agreed to implement 17 of the 21 demands made for the MA63. – The Vibes, September 15, 2021
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