“Abolish and DismantleParallel Government in Sabah - Jeffrey”

Kota Kinabalu: “The Federal and State governments should abolish the Federal Secretary Office and dismantle the parallel government machinery in Sabah and put words into action on their recognition of Sabah’s autonomy”said DatukDr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, when asked to comment on the call to channel federal funds to the State government. 

The Prime Minister had proudly announced that the 20-Points was intact during the recent GE-13 elections and acknowledged that Sabah’s autonomy was not in issue.

We call upon Umno/Federal and State governments to implement PM’s “JanjiDiTepati” and start treating Sabah (and Sarawak) as equal partners in Malaysia and not treat the Borneo States as though they belong to Umno/Malaya and as if Sabah’s wealth and resources are private properties and exclusively managed by Umno. 

The Federal Secretary Office (FSO) re-established in Sabah since 1990 is the equivalent of a parallel government in Sabah. Itnot only humiliates the State government and treats Sabah as their step-child but also controls the purse strings and projects for Umno’s political power game. 

There is no basis whatsoever to maintain the FSO more so since the State government is effectively controlled by Umno. 

There should be a review of the roles and presence of the federal departments and agencies in Sabah. Many of them are merely duplicating the roles of the Sabah government and Sabah departments and agencies so much so that they are killing the local counterparts and depriving Sabahans of job opportunities as they are usually staffed with senior and middle personnel from Malaya. 

There is no necessity for Risda, Felda, Felcra, LKIM, Bernas, Mardi, Agriculture Department, MTIB, LGM and many others to be in Sabah when their roles can be handled more effectively by SLDB, Sabah Marine, Sabah Padi Board, Sabah Agriculture, Forestry Department with its Sabah Forestry Institute which is world renowned, LIGS and others. 

The visionof FSOto be the prime mover towards excellence and accountability of the federal departments/agencies in Sabah ends up with a contradictory role in sidelining and killing local agencies when a more nobler objective of the federal government should be to improve and enhance performance of Sabah agencies. Unless it is the federal intention to have the FSO at all costs and does not bother with the collateral damage of killing local agencies and depriving locals of jobs.

The presence of the FSO contradicts its mission as it being the parallel government does nothing to foster closer relations and be an effective channel between the State and federal administrations. To better achieve this would be to share the federal government between Malaya and the Borneo States. The FSO can never be a more effective channel than the federal Cabinet. 

The PM has taken the step, more by forced circumstances than by choice to maintain his Umno/BN federal government, to appoint 11 Ministers and 10 Deputies from Sabah and Sarawak. The next step is to have at least haif of the 34 Ministers and 27 Deputies from Sabah and Sarawak which can be done at the next Cabinet re-shuffle which the PM has pledged to do after the Umno elections later this year to accommodate more Ministers from Sarawak. 

The other mission to assist and facilitate implementation of development projects more smoothly and orderly is nothing more than facilitating control of projects by Umno/Malayan leaders and their cronies. 

The time has come for the Sabah Cabinet and the Sabah federal MPs to need to abandon their worship of their Umno/Malaya leaders and start thinking of, standing on its own feetand acting in the best interests of Sabah without control from its political masters in Putrajaya starting with the dismantling of the parallel government in Sabah. 

This is part of the essence of STAR’s struggle and the Borneo Agenda for Sabah and wanting Sabahansto chart their own future and destiny. Sabah can be a leading and proud nation within Malaysia once again if proper steps are taken from now. 

DatukDr.Jeffrey Kitingan 

Chairman STAR Sabah 

05 June 2013