Umno not politicising devt issue, people talking about it – Suhaimi

SANDAKAN: Umno is not politicising development issue in Sabah but the reality is, people are talking about it, said the party’s state information chief Datuk Suhaimi Nasir.

The Libaran member of parliament said he hopes the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leaders and supporters will stop this denial syndrome, and accept the fact that Sabahans are now struggling with basic infrastructure problems such as water, roads, electricity and the economy.

“Go explore every corner of the state of Sabah. These issues are the reality faced by the people at the moment,” he said when commenting on the statement by Gerakan Kuasa Malaysia (G57) chairman Datuk Zulkarnain Mahdar who described Suhaimi’s previous media statement questioning the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan, as unwise.

According to Suhaimi, the state government has detailed the SMJ roadmap annual report before, but not everyone can read it even though it has been disseminated in various media.

“For those living in rural areas and not computer literate, they cannot read the report, especially given the lack of widespread broadband access in Sabah. This is one of SMJ’s failures,” he said.

Suhaimi added the report was neatly arranged on paper, but the reality was not as beautiful as reported.

“The issues of basic infrastructure are still the main and critical issues at the moment, while this is contained in one of the elements of the SMJ roadmap namely human capital, people’s well-being as well as infrastructure networks and green sustainability. Seeing the success of SMJ is not only about seeing the amount of investment coming in, but the people want to see it from a broader perspective, including basic infrastructure, economy and so on where the people are still struggling with these critical issues. Zulkarnain, if he want to comment my statement, he needs to be factual, not ‘bodek’,” Suhaimi added.

When commenting on Zulkarnian’s statement that he was responsible for road and water supply issues when Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin was Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Public Works, Suhaimi said throughout his two years of service, he had done the best for the trust given to him. Suhaimi said throughout the period Bung occupied the ministry, various plans to improve basic infrastructural facilities were carried out, but all decisions in terms of financial allocation were the responsibility of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor who was also Finance Minister at the time.

“Various plans have been proposed by Bung to the government, and various efforts have been made in the grassroots. However, the authority to decide the implementation of development projects is the Chief Minister,” he stressed.

Suhaimi added when Bung was Minister of Public Works, the Pan Borneo project for the East Zone of Sandakan-Kinabaangan-Beluran Telupid could be implemented through the Federal Government including packages 28, 29 and 30 along 58 kilometers with a cost of RM877 million, which is currently in the process of construction. Suhaimi said Bung is very committed to improving the road system.

“Similarly to the improvement of water supply facilities in Sabah, various visits to several districts were made by Bung during his tenure as Minister of Public Works, specifically to investigate water problems and submit the ministry’s recommendations for improvement.

“However, the power to decide for implementation is the chief minister,” he said.