KOTA KINABALU: The government’s decision to come up with a ‘White Paper’ on the Lahad Datu incident was timely to address concerns of Sabah’s status as a sovereign state of Malaysia.
In making the call, Kadazan Dusun Murut Organisation Malaysia (KDM Malaysia) president, Datuk Peter Anthony said it would help to give the people a clearer picture of what was really happening.
“I think a white paper on the issue will be very useful, and in fact, most needed to give the concerned public a clear picture of what is going on,” said Peter when launching the KDM Malaysia Idol auditions at the Beaufort town field on Saturday.
Peter said it was important for the public to know the real story amid claims by armed intruders from Sulu that Sabah belongs to them.
He also suggested that a regional conference be called so that leaders and representatives from countries in the region could come together to contribute ideas on solutions on how to best resolve such conflicts in future.
“We will raise the matter with the Ministry of Higher Education to see if they can take the lead on this.
“If they agree, then maybe an agency like Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) can be the venue,” said Peter.
When asked to comment on Peter’s suggestion on the white paper, Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister, Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun said: “It is up to the government to decide on it.”
Meanwhile, Peter also announced that KDM Malaysia would take the initiative to build a boarding house for poor students in Penampang.
“The Penampang District Education office had requested KDM Malaysia to build a boarding house so that poor students who live far from their schools would not have to walk long distances to attend classes.
“Education, as you know is one of our main agendas. We will build the boarding house at a suitable and strategic location,” said Peter.
KDM Malaysia collected contributions for the Tabung Wira, to which Peter contributed another RM10,000.
He also contributed RM20,000 for the Beaufort hard core poor students education fund (similar to the one in Tuaran recently) and presented RM1,000 incentives to three local students for outstanding achievements (9A’s) in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination last year.
Apart from that, two churches were also granted contributions to help boost their religious activities for the Christian community in Beaufort.