BN made Sabah poor, says MP

The MP for Kota Kinabalu has blamed Barisan Nasional for the poverty of Sabahans and the exodus of job-seekers from the state.

Twenty-three percent of Sabahans were below the poverty line and thousands who had left the state were living in misery in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, said Hiew King Chiew at a forum here.

“Sabah was once very wealthy and citizens did not worry about jobs, food and water, but since Umno-BN took over, we’ve become the poorest state in Malaysia, with 23.4 percent of the population living in poverty," he said.

“That means 23 out of 100 Sabahans are living below the poverty line. It has forced thousands of our youths to migrate to the peninsula and Singapore looking for jobs.”

Recalling visits to Tambunan, Keningau, Ranau, Kudat and Pitas, Hiew said his group found the locals living in shacks, “one spartan shack" for each family.

“Their main activity was padi and vegetable farming and fishing in the river,” he said.

“It’s shocking to see this."

He called on Sabahans and other Malaysians to extend assistance "in whatever form" to help poor Sabahans.

He also censured the federal government for not abiding by the terms of the 1963 agreement and said it was the failure of its policies that had caused the infiltration of cheap foreign labour into Sabah, resulting in the exodus of job-seeking Sabahans.

“We’ve given BN a chance but they did not do anything," he told an audience of about 300.

"Pakatan Rakyat is trying its honest best to help. We need a change. We need to save Sabah and Malaysia.”

courtesy of FMT