Jimmy Wong Weblog

Borneanization – Need to be expedited April 5, 2010

The 20 Points or safeguards for North Borneo to agree to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia are becoming the focal point of discussion in Sabah. DAP Advisor Sdra YB Lim Kit Siang has started the whirlwind by asking Sabahans especially the Malaysian Natives of Sabah to evaluate their position in the Federation after 47 years of BN rule. The question is whether the BN government headed by UMNO has betrayed the community or not. Taking the 20 Points as an example, there is nothing to be proud off as most of the points are now redundant. Only Point 8 on Borneanisation of the public services is not moving as quickly as possible.

 The Borneanisation process is so slow that many qualified Sabahans are now in their twilight time of their life. They achieved academic excellence and served the country well but never given the opportunity to do more or to head the various government agencies. These qualified Sabahans are excellent candidates for higher postings as Ambassadors and High Commissioners of Malaysia. Are the Federal government going to continue to marginalize these qualified Sabahans?

The emergence of Sabahans in West Malaysia who are homeless and depending on free meals from the Church is disheartening. Why are they in West Malaysia to seek for jobs when Sabah is such a rich country? The answer is simple. There are no jobs in Sabah. The youth are poorly trained and unskilled. This is because there are not many vocational training schools in Sabah. The government of the day is responsible for creating jobs. In this score the government has failed to prepare these young people for the job markets.

 They are definitely no match to the immigrant workers from Indonesia in the plantation sector. They are no match to the Filipino workers in the construction sector. They are also no match against the Filipinos in the tourism sector.  They are no match to the Timorese in the agriculture sector. Because of their background they are now facing the same problem in West Malaysia. They are just no match against the Burmese and Bangladesh who are going after the same job opportunities.  

For the start, the government must give Sabahans the opportunity in the State and Federal agencies. FAMA or the Federal Agriculture and Marketing Agency in Sabah should be headed and staffed by Malaysian Sabahans. Lately we see how FAMA is failing to reach the target group. One of the reasons is pure ignorance of the local needs. FELDA and FELCRA have been in the picture for sometimes and have developed the land. By now theses agencies should be headed and staffed by Malaysian Sabahans. As far as FELDA is concerned, the developed land should have been sub-divided and distributed among the people of Sabah. With this, the local Sabahans will have to toil the land.

 As long as these Federal agencies are controlled by Kuala Lumpur, Sabahans will continue to be poor and jobless. There is no reason for Sabahans to leave shore and ending up as “beggars” in Kuala Lumpur.

 Dr. Edwin Bosi

Sabah DAP Publicity Secretary