Leiking
PENAMPANG: It is time to stop the self-pity and make Sabah an innovative-centric state again, urged federal International Trade and Industry minister Datuk Darell Leiking
Leiking, who is also Penampang MP, said Sabah was the amongst the first to have a resort and merchant or commercial banks in Malaysia in the past due to timber wealth.
“But along the way, I noticed a segment of our political aspirants started creating emotional issues. So much so, emotions take over our conscience, our intelligence,” he said after officiating at the Malaysia Autoshow Sabah 2019 launch at the Sabah Cultural Centre here yesterday.
“Let’s go back to the time when Sabahans were more innovative. More driven to bring the state to an amazing position. Driven to bring the state to competitiveness.
“No more about kesian kita (pity us). No more about self-sympathy. We shouldn’t have that. We should be brave. If there is an issue that we are not happy about, we find solution as opposed to finding fault,” he added.
Leiking said war-stricken neighbouring countries, like Vietnam, in the past is no longer blaming its bloody history but leaping into becoming a high and new tech working society.
“I think our people have to go back to where we were. We must find back our original destination, that means the talent that we have, the drive that we have, the confidence that we have,” he said.
“If we listen to (what) people (say), oh we have been played, we have been cheated, hit by that, we are going to go nowhere. We have to start thinking, okay, if we are cheated, what do we do? We find a solution.
“We must remember what has happened, but we have to let go of the emotions to bring back our confidence, to bring back our talent, bring back our drive.
“Don’t play emotions anymore, we need to be innovative,” he concluded.