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.
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