KOTA KINABALU: The strong relationship between the state and federal government has allowed Sabah and its people to develop in tandem with the rest of the country.
“Sabah now has better infrastructures in many parts of the state, but it does not mean that the job is done; we must remain steadfast in uplifting quality of life among Malaysians in Sabah,” said political secretary to the Finance Ministry Md Joh Bin Hj Wid yesterday.
He said this in rebuttal to a recent allegation made by Parti Warisan Sabah secretary-general Loretto S.Padua who contended that Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman’s weak leadership was the main reason why there were so many run-down schools in the interior, lack of proper and modern government medical facilities in the state or the rampant kidnappings on the east coast of Sabah.
“Datuk Seri Musa Hj Aman has contributed a lot to the development of our beloved state of Sabah.” he said in dismissing Padua’s allegations.
On security issues, Joh said the central government had made numerous efforts in strengthening the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) besides instilling confidence in investors and among tourists.
On Padua questioning the state government’s commitment in combating corruption in Sabah, especially the “Watergate Scandal”, Joh said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) would soon complete its probe into the Sabah Water Department’s alleged graft and power abuse scandal.
“As for now, the Sabah state government will have to respect and wait on the final report regarding the Watergate Scandal before commenting further.
“As reported by the deputy chief commissioner of MACC Datuk Azam Baki, the investigations papers will be submitted to the attorney-general after investigators of the graft agency have pored through nearly 12 tonnes of documents,” he said.
According to Joh, MACC investigators were to have implicated top department officials in connection with the siphoning of money from the RM3.3 billion worth of federal allocations for Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s then Ministry of Rural and Regional Development’s (KKLW) NKRA Rural Development, namely the Bekalan Air Luar Bandar (BALB) projects since 2010.
He said the Chief Minister had given assurance that the state government would review all the existing procedures relating to projects involving both the federal and state governments to ensure such situation would not recur in the future.
Furthermore, he said the scandal had highlighted the importance of close corporation between state and federal ministries such as KKLW, to prevent such incidence from happening again.
“The lack of corporation and insights on BALB or any other NKRA projects from Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, KKLW to the main state government office was one of the reasons why such problems arose. We are confident with the MACC probe and to respect the final report.
“The ignorance and reluctance of giving full corporation and information to the Sabah state government from the very beginning and the greed of Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal on his KKLW projects was the main reason why such problems as the ‘Watergate Scandal’ had arose.
“I hope this scandal can be a reminder on the importance of close corporation between state and federal ministries in terms of reporting and procedures relating to projects involving both the federal and state governments,” Joh contended.
He said the state government applauded Dato Sri Ismail Sabri’s, the current Minister of Rural and Regional Development, efforts to have an open discussions on KKLW projects in Sabah with Musa during his first courtesy visit to Sabah on November 10, 2015.
“This shows KKLW’s commitment in improving relationship with the state government,” said Joh, who proposed that the KKLW abolishes its ‘Pejabat Cawangan Sabah (PCN)’ in Kota Kinabalu so as to strengthen and empower relations between KKLW and the state government.
“This can be the turning point of a better understanding and corporation between the KKLW and Sabah that was ruined by the actions of the former minister of KKLW, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal,” he added.