Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal
Updated.
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal has warned his cabinet to not enrich themselves.
“Don’t, tomorrow, after becoming ministers, your small house becomes big, your small cars is changed to a bigger one.
“I don’t want to see that among my line of ministers. The moment you change your life, I will change my cabinet,” he said at the handing over of Hari Raya Aidilfitri biscuits and tidbits to members of the security forces who will be on duty during the festivity.
Shafie also joked that he had told his wife they would be staying put at their present dwelling.
“My wife and I will continue to live in our old house,” he said.
The Chief Minister added that he bought the house when he was still a civil servant, after securing a loan from Sabah Credit and Public Bank.
And then he reiterated: “To my friends in the ministry. Do not enrich yourself. Enrich the people at large.”
Meanwhile, Shafie explained that his order to ban log exports was aimed at helping Sabah furniture factories thrive.
He said logs were being exported to Japan, to Vietnam and China to feed their furniture factories, while those in Sabah suffer shortages.
“We want more Sabah furniture factories…we will reduce our exports and increase our downstream activities which will generate more jobs,” he said.
He also stressed that despite Sabah’s expansive existence of oil palm plantations, there were no factories producing cooking oil in Sabah.
“In KL (Kuala Lumpur), there are so many,” he said.
“We will build more factories here which will open more jobs,” he promised.
Shafie said, he is certain that with more jobs being offered, there would be less people involved in criminal activities, such as thefts.
“Then, better security can be realized,” he said.
Shafie also mentioned the challenges facing the prime minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammed.
“He is faced with a challenging economy. We need to help him. We will do our very best. That is our promise to the people,” he said.