Trouble brewing in Sabah MCA

Sabah MCA leaders manoeuvre in preparation for the 13th general election.

KOTA KINABALU: The general election may be some distance away, but already a fight is brewing among Sabah MCA leaders over the Kepayan state constituency seat currently held by its chief Edward Khoo.

MCA Penampang has demanded that a leader from the division be nominated as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Kepayan constituency in the 13th general election.

“We pledge to support and endorse only a leader from MCA Penampang to stand as the candidate for Kapayan in the 13th general election,” the division delegates stated in a resolution passed during its annual general meeting over the weekend.

The resolution is a slap in the face for Khoo, who won the seat on a BN ticket in the 2008 general election.

He subsequently became the first non-Umno, peninsula-based party member to gain a foothold in the state government when he was appointed assistant minister to the chief minister.

In another resolution, they pledged their support to MCA Sabah deputy chairman Senator Paul Kong Sing Chu to continue leading MCA Penampang.

The delegates also urged the government to amend the Petroleum Development Act 1974 in order to allocate more revenue to Sabah.

To meet the needs of the growing population in Kepayan, MCA Penampang delegates also urged the government to build a new school in the area.

They also want the government to quickly resolve the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah and revoke the MyKad granted to undeserving, suspicious and unqualified individuals.

Stern action

Another issue the delegates took up was the need for the federal government to declare Kaamaatan or the Harvest Festival a national event.

“We also urge the government to take stern action against those individuals or organisations which have uttered racist remarks which may create chaos, disunity and hatred among the people in the country.

“There is also a need for the government to expedite the construction of a new health clinic in Donggongon on the site which has been acquired more than four years ago,” they said.

Other resolutions passed were calls on the government to reduce and cut unnecessary expenditures before reducing subsidies on essential items in order to help the middle- and low-income groups as well as to take drastic action to combat crimes, and improve national security.

They also wanted the government to build a new and bigger post office in Donggongon to cater for the increasing needs of the people.

“We urge the local authorities to conduct proper and stringent supervision on the projects implemented under their jurisdiction.

“We also want them to ensure that the basic infrastructure and services such as roads, drains, grass-cutting and streetlights are in proper functioning conditions,” they said.