‘Sulking’ Ongkili slams ‘caring’ PKR

BN minister Maximum Ongkili comes under fire for throwing a tantrum over a move by the opposition to help build a house for a poor family.

KOTA KINABALU: Kota Marudu MP Maximus Ongkili is furious that the opposition PKR has come to the aid of a poverty-stricken family in his constituency.

He saw red when a photograph of the poor Marambal family in Matunggong in Kota Marudu was published in the local dailies here.

He was even more incensed when he read that PKR’s Christina Liew had built a house for the family which was living in a dilapidated zinc hut in Kampung Kandawayon.

“The opposition is playing up this matter. So okay go and build as many houses as you can. How many can you build?

“I invite Liew to build as many as you can… how many can you build?

“I have got 90 (houses) that I built in Kota Marudu and another 50 for Matunggong. She just built one, and she making so much noise,” said Ongkili, who is also Science, Technology and
Innovation Minister.

Rosnia Marambal, 36, a widow, was grateful to Liew and the press for highlighting her predicament.

Rosnia had reportedly said that she had tried unsuccessfully to register herself with the government’s “e-kasih programme”.

Her tale of woe also caught the attention of the Rosmah Mansor, the prime minister’s wife who promptly pushed for federal help for Rosnia.

This further riled Ongkili who has exhibited nothing short of bad behaviour as a BN assemblyman, if coffeeshop banter is any measure.

Unacceptable behaviour

A seasoned political activist, Fred Lojingki, 70, who claimed he had helped Ongkili in the past, was dismayed and dissapointed at how the elected representative had handled the Marambal issue.

“The way Ongkili responded on this neglected hardcore poor family being helped by PKR and the media is unacceptable.

“Ongkili was being ungrateful and sore at problems being exposed in his constituency. He is displaying maximum arrogance by challenging an opposition leader to build even more houses for the poor in Kota Marudu,” he said.

Lojingki added that as Barisan Nasional (BN) MP and PBS deputy president, he had failed his supproters.

“I can safely say that Ongkili is failing the supporters of PBS as well as BN.

“Only an arrogant person or leader would not need a good public relations way of tackling sensitive issue like this.

“Did Ongkili remember how many houses he and PBS built when he and the party were outside of the government?

“Is he telling the people that it was his own money, and not the people’s money, that he spent to build the 90 houses?

“I am quite sure Liew used her own money or perhaps her friends’ when she helped the poor Marambal family,” said Lojingki.

Sincerity and effort needed

Lojingki said that it was unbecoming of Ongkili or any PBS-BN leaders to brag to the world about their feats.

“Ongkili should not brag to the world that he has built a mere 90 houses for the poor and using the people’s money at that!

“As a minister he should have built 10,000 houses or even more for the poor families in Sabah alone,” he said.

Lojingki said that Ongkili was spot-on when he said there were “many families like the Marambals in Sabah”.

“It only needs a little bit of sincerity and effort on the part of our able leaders like Ongkili to go out and identify and help those in need.

“Why wait for PKR and the media to expose?

“We have the opposition and the media to thank for exposing problems like the one in Matunggong, which is just the tip of the iceberg,” Lojingki said.