Resettle water villagers immediately – LDP

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KUDAT: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) deputy president Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin has urged the government to resettle people living in water villages immediately to curb security issues that arise from these villages.

He said the resettlement of water villagers to the mainland was a feasible long-term plan because water villages could harbour illegal immigrants and criminals who threaten the security of Sabah.

“Once the people living in water villages are resettled to the mainland, the government can then build jetties and fishing ports along the coastline for fishermen, thereby allowing the government to effectively control the entry of illegal immigrants.”

Chin said this when officiating at LDP Tanjung Kapor divisional conference headed by Datuk Teo Chee Kang here yesterday. Teo is also the Minister of Special Tasks and LDP president.

Kudat as another tourism destination

Chin said the east coast of Sabah, namely Semporna, Kunak and Lahad Datu, have been plagued with the recent spate of abductions and intrusion by militants from the southern Philippines.

Chin opined that Kudat could be developed into another option for foreign tourists with its beautiful sandy beaches, clear blue sea and mesmerizing sunset.

He said LDP’s former party president Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat had brought many developments and transformations into Kudat during his tenure as the state assemblyman for Kudat constituency, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Chief Minister of Sabah and State Tourism Minister.

Chong has realized an international standard golf course, developed and promoted Tip of Borneo as a tourism destination and brought the Sunset Orchestra to perform at the Tip of Borneo.

“These developments, among others, have spurred the tourism and economic development in Kudat.

“I am confident that our party president cum Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang will bring more progress to Kudat and put Kudat on the global tourism map like Semporna and Lahad Datu,” he said.

On a related matter, Chin pointed out that the security in our state has been worrisome recently.

“Carjackings, vehicle thefts, break-ins and robbery cases are growing at an alarming rate not only in the east coast, but also in the west coast of Sabah, especially in the capital of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu.

“I hope the police force will step up their patrol and enforcement measures to curb criminal activities and protect the safety of the people and their property.”

He continued to say that LDP had called on Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman and top officials where they gave away kuih raya to the police force during the Ramadan month this year, during which Jalaluddin urged the public who were returning to their hometowns during the festive season to register their home addresses at the nearest police stations.

This is so that the police personnel could patrol the registered homes during the owners’ absence.

Chin further said Jalaluddin had given stern warning to the police chiefs that they would personally be held accountable if any of the registered homes were broken into.

“Jalaluddin’s resolute attitude and seriousness in curbing criminal activities makes him a good role model to police officers and personnel.”

Similarly, Chin said leaders of our public service, including our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, federal and state cabinet ministers as well as government department heads should take strict measures to ensure government policies are implemented in a proper manner and achieved the intended positive impacts.

Instead of giving out the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M), Chin suggested that the government provided scholarships to children from poor families.

He pointed out that the majority of  BR1M recipients were poor people living in rural areas who only needed water supply, electricity, accommodation and basic infrastructures.

The RM 500 financial aid given to the poor will be exhausted very soon without bringing them significant long term benefits.

“On the contrary, we can change their fate and take them out of poverty if we nurture their children and enable them to receive high education with scholarships.

“By doing so, we can elevate the standard of living of the poor.”

Chin also urged the government to award scholarships to students based on merits of their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

He called on the quota system used in awarding government scholarships to be abolished so that bumiputra and non-bumiputra students have equal opportunities in receiving the scholarship according to their academic performance.

“The government can further set conditions to make sure the scholarship recipients return to work in their home country after completing their tertiary education.

“I believe the proposals are far better than giving out RM 500 financial aid to the poor or RM 200 to students.

“The people will also be more appreciative of the government’s efforts to improve the lives of the people with these concrete measures,” he explained.

On the other hand, Chin refuted talks on the ground that Barisan Nasional (BN) has been colluding with PAS, especially in the Selangor Menteri Besar crisis.

He pointed out that BN and PAS were on opposite sides of the political divide.  In fact, Chin said the crisis had exposed PAS’ indecisiveness, when the party swayed from supporting Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which nearly shattered the Selangor Government run by Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

In addition, he said PAS’ political ideology is based on the Islamic religion, which many Muslims, especially the younger generations, do not see eye to eye with.

“This indicates that Umno should be more in tune with the youths’ mentality and mindset, address their concerns in order to win back the support of Malay youths for BN.”

Chin reiterated that the people had wished to see our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak declaring the Hudud law as unsuitable for our multiracial nation when PAS initiated the tabling of the Private Members’ Bill to implement Hudud law in Kelantan early on.

“Instead, Najib announced the formation of a special committee to examine the implementation of the Islamic penal code with all quarters, including PAS.”

He said PAS’ stance on Hudud law had always been extreme.

“If we were to discuss with PAS, there will be no conclusive decision in the next five or ten years.

“I believe most of the people, including young Muslims and Malays would have given their support if our Prime Minister had promptly reject the implementation of the Hudud law in Malaysia then.

“At the end of the day, the people long to see the BN government that takes a clear stance and makes bold, pragmatic decisions,” he said.

On another matter, Chin said there had yet to be a conclusion pertaining to the pay rise of federal ministers and members of parliament (MPs). The bill was tabled in parliament last year, but was later withdrawn when it received strong opposition from the opposition.

In contrast, the Selangor state government and Sarawak state government had decisively passed a bill to revise the salary of state cabinet ministers, exco members and state assemblymen, he said.

The salary of our ministers and MPs are low compared to other countries, considering that we have to serve a large number of people, Chin added.

Hence, he urged the government to act decisively and promptly to resolve issues plaguing our country because dragging on and delaying response will only invite criticisms from the society.

Citing another example, Chin said the government had remained mum on the seizure of Bibles by Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS),with Inspector General of Police (IGP) defying court order on inter-racial custody case.

“We cannot satisfy everyone in politics. If a government policy benefits the majority of the people, then it should be implemented,” he stressed.

He hoped that our Prime Minister will implement bold reformations before the next general election, to bring positive changes to the lives of the people, to show Malaysians that BN walk the talk.

“If we fail to do so, we will face an even tougher challenge in the next general election as we are going to lose some of our supporters to the opposition.

“We must stop being weak, we must transform ourselves, strengthen BN and the government to ensure we are given a fresh mandate in the next general election.”