‘BN govt does not care for Sabah’

Former deputy minister Lajim Ukin told Parliament of the failures of the BN government to Sabah voters.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Umno deputy minister Lajim Ukin told parliament that the Barisan Nasional government has no time for Sabah. He said this was despite the state’s loyalty to the federal government all these years.

Lajim, who is Beaufort MP, also indicated his support for the opposition after he had remained quiet over his political leanings after he quit the government, applauding Pakatan Rakyat’s promise to raise oil royalty payments to 20%.

Sabah is rich in oil and contributes some RM22 billion of oil revenue annually but enjoys a mere 5% return in royalty while government allocations to the state, one of the poorest in the country, is said to be comparatively low.

Lajim’s insinuation of support for Pakatan could see BN taking on a united opposition in the Sabah.

In his speech during the 2013 Budget debate in parliament, Lajim said the ruling coalition had failed to bring development in the state.

Compared to the 85% rate of completed paved roads in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah has only 35%. Connectivity is a key issue in the state which is why Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had announced increased allocations for road projects there.

But the former deputy minister, who was among the few other Sabah leaders who recently defected following disillusionment with the Najib administration’s failure to address the problems in Sabah, said none of the promises have been fulfilled so far.

“For 55 years BN have ruled and Sabah had contributed so much to the Malaysian economy since then but still it is one of the poorest state in the country.

“This shows that Sabah and Sarawak are never the government’s priority despite us being the fixed deposit for the ruling coalition. The Sabahan people have been sidelined,” he said.

Other Sabah BN leaders had also admitted recently that more must be done to improve the socio-economic situation in the state but so far none of them have been upfront about who is to be blamed for Sabah’s underdevelopment.

A Merdeka Center survey released on Friday showed that 57% were dissatisfied with the state’s economic performance and only 56% of Sabah voters were satisfied with the state government, a 6% drop from 62% in November 2009.

The report also showed a significant drop in the state’s chief minister Musa Aman’s rating.

From 60% in November 2009, it dropped to to 45% in September. The decline was most marked among Muslim-Bumiputera voters who are the backbone of the state’s Umno support, with a drop from 72% in November 2009 to 51% last month.

Analysts believe the recent defections in the state will alter the state’s and the national political landscape there, suggesting BN will face some hurdles in its stronghold in the upcoming polls.