Get the army out, Datuk Defence Minister.

June 5th, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized

Will he deliver on his promises? Or, is it another ploy to buy time?

Remember when Badawi won the general elections in 2004 with 90% of the popular votes on the promises of reforms, he didn't do anything at all. Only after the 2008 elections with his party losing the customary two-thirds majority in Parliament that he started doing something about reforming the judiciary and the anti-corruption agency.

How do you trust this man? It appears that he will not move unless there is pressure  exerted on him.

It might thrill some of his supporters on the Kaaamatan "goodies" he promised Sabahans last weekend . Personally, I don't think it is anything fantastic but just an attempt to stop some of our politicians from switching sides . Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan has described it as a form of bribery.

Will the people of Sabah actually benefit from the so-called goodies?

Let us look at the appointment of Sabahans to two key posts in the state, only two people in the whole state  are  made happy here.

Does this make me happy too? No, because the posts are ours, why do we have to beg for them? We are Malaysian citizens and taxpayers, why are the posts given to us only when Badawi's political career is on the line? Why can't it be based on fairness all the while?

All the other goodies are the same. It's  good news for the elected representatives to get RM1million each for MPs and RM 400,000 each to assemblymen, will there be a trickle down effect that will benefit the people in the constituencies? Also, the promise of RM1 billion for rural development projects. With the state of our delivery system, I am not too sanguine.

The much maligned functions of the Federal Development Department will now be taken over by a unit in the Chief Minister's department, doesn't this make the CM post more powerful as the system of patronage  can now be played at the state level more seriously? With this added responsibility  there must be more accountability and transparency, I can keep on dreaming. A friend said only cronies and  maybe family members will be the likely benefactors from this exercise.

Now, the real issue that will  make average  Sabahans really happy is how the problem of the illegals in the state will be solved. Why did we get? A committee to look into this will be formed to be led by the Deputy Prime Minister- cum- Defence Minister. Is the Prime Minister  serious? A committee.?

When will the committee swing into action? Tomorrow or never? 

Don't blame  me or other Sabahans  for being upset over this. We feel so threatened by the foreigners, yet the government can only talk about forming a committee .This is one issue that needs proper and immediate attention and it is  a matter of life and death for us.

Shall we give the foreigners amnesty?The answer is overwhelmingly no. So, what are the options available to  us?

Why can't this country have a proper immigration policy? Take in foreigners that will benefit us economically. Spell out the terms and conditions who  qualify like the advanced countries normally do.Those without proper papers or qualifications must not be entertained at all.Those qualified   are only entitled to Permanent Residency(PR), and not citizenship,this will prevent them from becoming  voters automatically.

We can even fine tune their entry to our own labour requirements . For example, New Zealand allows temporary workers to work to pick fruits on their farms. After the season is over they have to leave. We can do the same for a particular sector short of labour.

Citizenship can be considered  maybe after a ten year stay as PR and  for that they have to display they understand local habits and customs and even speak the national language well, to qualify they have to sit for exams.

At the moment  the enforcement units are not doing much, they are partly to be blamed for the sad state of affairs . Why are they pretending everything is hunky dory?They need to be re-trained so that they understand their functions better. As this involves national security, get the army out, if I may suggest to the Defence Minister.

The state assembly should play a more active role in debating the issue. It must be on the radar screen all the time. Data based on research must be made available to the public so that we know the magnitude of the problem.

What is going to happen to the children of the illegals born here? Are they to be given citizenship? Or, are they just going to be tolerated sniffing glue and selling syabu openly?

With little education and skills that are marketable, imagine the kind of damage they are inflicting on our society . A firm decision must be made on this now. We can't allow our children to inherit this problem unsolved, they might even urinate on our graves later.

I think our problem is  that we rely too much on the government to move things for us.  We should think of taking action to minimise this  problem ourselves within the framework of our own laws, of course.

We should form our own groups  in the kampongs, housing estates and monitor the movements of the people in our neighbourhoods, we should be the eyes and the ears of the government, anyone new  in the area must be reported to the government enforcement agencies for necessary action. Once the illegals see we mean business, they will feel intimidated somewhat.

Without self help on our part, we can cry blue black in the face, nothing concrete will happen from our politicians who have their own agenda.

The question is are we up to it? And, what are we waiting for?

It only takes political will to  control the situation like what Chong Kah Kiat had demonstrated to us during his tenure.