KOTA KINABALU: The roles of the two Chinese state ministers in Sabah are more than enough to handle matters affecting the Chinese community, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah.
Commenting on his appointment as Deputy Chief Minister (Chinese quota) and Datuk Teo Chee Kang as Special Tasks Minister, he said giving more attention to the Chinese was something that needed to be seen in a wider perspective, especially when the people in Sabah are living in a multiracial community.
“I think it is good for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman to have appointed Teo, because probably the Chinese in the urban areas need more attention.
“So you need somebody that is more focused on the needs of the urban Chinese and basically to associate more with the Chinese leaders in the community,” he said to reporters at the launching of the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) Kaamatan celebration.
Tan added that his personal analysis from the outcome of the newly concluded 13th general election was that the Chinese do not have problems, but they just needed more attention.
” The Chinese do not have problems. I do not agree when people say the election results show the Chinese are having problems. No.
“From my own analysis, I think the Chinese probably have more expectations that they probably wanted to be heard much more. I think Musa did the right thing because he knows where the weaknesses are. We need to be more focused to know what kind of attention they need, and he is providing it. So it is a good thing.”
However, as the Deputy Chief Minister for the Chinese quota, Tan stressed that his role was not only towards the Chinese community because there are a lot of things that he should focus on, for example the business sector which he is very much involved.
He said the business sector was not meant for the Chinese only, because economic development must be done together regardless of race.
“It does not mean that since I am the Deputy Chief Minister for the Chinese quota, I have to focus businesses only for the Chinese. Business is for the people; it does not matter whether you are Chinese, Kadazan, Dusun, Murut or Malay.
“So I have a greater job looking at how we can work together to harmonize that relationship when we are aiming for economic growth. I do not think we need to form separate departments. I think we really need to move away from taking a position for a particular community,” he said.
Tan, who is also Minister of Industrial Development said his statement did not mean that he was not concerned with the Chinese community, but was happy with Teo’s position in helping him address matters affecting the Chinese.
Asked whether two Chinese ministers were enough to handle Chinese affairs, Tan said Musa had highlighted that the cabinet was working as a team and the number of Chinese ministers was not important because the number of activities was more important than the number of ministers.
“Musa did a lot of things in promoting Chinese culture, schools, and religious activities. We can see he is working hard for the Chinese community as well.
“I am sure Musa will give more allocation to the Chinese community if there is a need and it is not because of the number of ministers in the cabinet,” he added.
Also present at the Kaamatan celebration yesterday were Minister of Community Development and Consumer Affiars Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid, Tuaran District Officer Madiyem Layapan and City Hall director general DAtuk Yeo Boon Hai.