The former premier had reportedly said that the people of Sabah and
Sarawak be patient for the implementation of development in their states.
KUCHING: The blatant statement by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad
asking the people of Sarawak and Sabah to be patient for the implementation of
development perfectly demonstrates to the people in the Borneo states what the
Barisan Nasional government thinks of us, said Baru Bian, chairman of Sarawak
PKR.
“We are regarded as the ignorant and unquestioning fixed deposit states
that are in this country to be milked dry to fund the excessive spending crazes
in Peninsular Malaysia.
“We have been patient for 49 years. How many more years does this
old man think he can fool us to wait?” asked Bian, who is Ba’Kelalan state
assemblyman.
Mahathir was reported to have told reporters that the people of Sabah
and Sarawak must be patient to wait for natural resources to be extracted and
foreign investments to materialise before experiencing the same tempo of
development as those in the peninsula.
He said: “In truth, I think the development of Sabah and Sarawak has
outstripped the peninsula. Sarawak has the highest foreign direct investment
and Sabah has the largest reserves of petroleum in the country.
“Just be patient and wait for the resources to be extracted and soon
your earnings (and development) will increase,” Mahathir said.
Bian asked: “What does he mean by saying ‘Just be patient and wait for
the resources to be extracted and soon your earnings (and development) will
increase’?
“Umno and BN have been making huge ‘withdrawals’ from our oil and gas
resources for over 30 years now, while giving the rakyat of Sarawak and Sabah
crumbs to keep us quiet.
“I wish to ask him in his capacity as Petronas advisor what Petronas has
been doing in Sabah and Sarawak all these years if not extracting our precious
resources,” he said.- Free Malaysia Today
