PENAMPANG: The Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) would like the federal government to give more focus to the KadazaDusun Murut (KDM) community in Sabah.
Its president, Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan, said that assistance to the KDM community in Sabah should be increased as many of them live in the interior of the state.
He said this when asked to comment on the national 2016 budget which was tabled by Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Friday and what are the hopes of KDCA from the budget.
Speaking to reporters after officiating KDCAs triennial delegates conference here yesterday, Pairin said he noted that the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia received allocation under the national 2016 budget.
In the context of Sabah, we also hope that the same attention is given to the KDM community and the government can consider how else it can assist them other that by just giving out BR1M.
One of the areas the government can help out is in education by providing the KDM community with the opportunity in the sector and it can build more schools in the interior areas where most of the KDM are living, Pairin, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, said.
He pointed out that the federal government should ensure that the school buildings it has promised to be built such as the SMK Desa Wawasan, SMK Sains in Keningau, hostels and the KDM Community College in Tambunan are done.
These school building projects have been approved so the government must ensure that they are implemented as soon as possible. I have brought this matter to the attention of the federal government as this is pertaining to education, he said, adding that in the states education blueprint, it has identified two education hubs namely in Sandakan and the interior.
The education hubs are important to ensure that Sabahans receive education, knowledge and development, he stressed.
Pairin added that KDCA realizes that the budget may not be able to encompass all this but the association is hopeful that the assistance can be disseminated through other means.
One more thing the government should take into consideration is the need to increase the rakyats productivity. If we can do that, their income will increase so will their purchasing power and this will generate the countrys economy, Pairin added.