Sulu incursion: Hiding from the truth
Politicians in the ruling Barisan Nasional, especially Umno, are scrambling to divert attention from their astounding lapse in judgement and the resulting fiasco in Sabah.
KOTA KINABALU: As the dust settles on the incursion by a group of armed men from the southern Philippines, the question of who will take responsibility remains hanging. Most politicians in the government have resigned themselves to watching from the sidelines.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, the younger brother of Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, appears to be passively muddling through the crisis.
With parliament expected to be dissolved anytime now and the general election called, it’s become a hot-potato issue for any to handle.
But it also highlights an all-consuming governmental crisis which is pulling the country apart.
Those in power can no longer be trusted on national security because they are shallow, ignorant, arrogant and not serious about issues that matter most to Sabahans and Malaysians in general.
That our security forces were blind-sided, are fighting an enemy who have merged with the citizenry and thus are unable to locate their positions, has stunned defence analysts.
Politicians in the ruling Barisan Nasional, especially Umno, are scrambling to divert attention from their astounding lapse in judgement and the resulting fiasco which has so far left more than 70 dead, several more wounded and thousands of villagers displaced.
Suddenly, more cross-border trade restrictions are coming into force and police have stepped up border security surveillance in Sarawak to prevent and detect any of the intruders fleeing to the coastal districts of Sarawak.
The border areas closest to Sabah in Sarawak are Lawas and Limbang districts. Neighbouring Brunei is also probably on heightened alert as will be the Indonesians.
While all this is happening, the man most to blame for this fiasco and other scandals, is leading the charge to defend Umno as well as ensure it does not sully its legacy.
Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in Sabah shortly after the major part of “Ops Daulat” ended last weekend and quickly launched into an explanation of his administration’s willingness to grant citizenship to thousands of immigrants.
Dr M: Don’t blame me
He was quick to tell a political gathering in Papar, about an hour’s drive from the state capital, not to blame him for the massive influx of immigrants into the state while he was prime minister.
According to him, foreigners who were not eligible or had just entered the country were never eligible for citizenship and if they did obtain it, it was done by a few unscrupulous government officers for financial gain.
However, testimonies by senior government officers at an on-going inquiry state otherwise and allege a conspiracy reaching into the prime minister’s office or at least to those close to him.
His advice on improving security in Sabah was to call for the banning of water villagers, the ramshackled jumble of houses on stilts that dot the coast, because they are difficult to monitor.
It is not lost on many that the population of the state and import of poverty ballooned after Umno extended its wings to Sabah in the early 1990s in a bid to overthrow the duly elected state government which was at the time Christian-led and in the opposition.
The incursion also spotlighted rampant poverty there. It’s blemish on the resource rich state that the government has been feverishly trying to dismiss as exaggeration.
But while many in the state obviously remain poverty-stricken, it is not about to get an increased share of its own vast resources of oil and gas.
Mahathir told his audience in Papar that giving back more to Sabah would be unfair to other states in the country as the government practices wealth sharing irrespective of which state produces it and its benefits must be distributed fairly among all states.
“When Sabah was poor, the federal government helped the state, but don’t tell me that when Sabah has become rich, it does not want to help other people. That is not sharing because oil is created naturally and it is God’s gift.
“For example, when Terengganu was rich with oil, the state did not ask for more oil royalty more than 5%. In fact, the 5% oil royalty is given based on gross and not based on profit, which is higher,” he reportedly said.
If you had asked a Sabahan about five years ago what they thought about the all-powerful Umno-led coalition government, they would have said they don’t think about politics much anymore and they just want to get on with their lives.
The recent series of spectacular government foul-ups may have shocked voters out of their lethargy.
Mahathir has acknowledged that the government could lose some parliamentary seats in Sabah and Sarawak in the coming general election and many others in the BN coalition are no longer hiding from the truth that all signs point to this.
The latest indications are that Sabah leaders may be recalibrating their approach to governing the state.
Worried KDM leaders
On Friday, the senior Kadazandusun community leaders in Sabah are planning to hold an unprecedented emergency meeting in the state capital to discuss current issues affecting the state and the community.
FMT learned yesterday that invitations were being issued to various leaders of cultural groupings as well.
Invitation being sent via mobile texts informed recipients that the agenda was “to discuss current issues affecting the state and the community…”
It is not clear who would be chairing the meeting but rumours are that the organisers are infact Barisan Nasional leaders from PBS, Upko and PBRS.
They are hoping to attract at least 5,000 people for the emergency meeting.
Apparently all three parties’ presidents – PBS (Joseph Pairin Kitingan), UPKO (Bernard Dompok) and PBRS (Joseph Kurup) – are expected to address the meeting. The meeting was slotted for Friday because Dompok is currently in the Vatican City representing Malaysia at the installation of Pope Francis.
Also surfacing are speculations that the three KDM-based parties may leave BN and contest as a coalition with other opposition parties. Alongside these rumours are also talks that the possibility of this happening “is remote”.
Insider sources are however tight-lipped over whether the emergency meeting would spring any surprises or resolutions.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the state, more than a month after the foray by the ragtag group of some 200 or so armed Filipinos of the self-styled Royal Sulu Army, security forces continue their “mop up” operations in the east coast of the state with various shooting incidents and arrests reported each day.
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