DAP praises both the Usno and Berjaya govts

Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah and Sarawak had not been accorded due respect by the Federal Government as reflected in the 2011 national budget whereby the two States were allocated less than 10 per cent of the total sum.
 
DAP national economic adviser Tony Pua said the irony was that while the BN government was talking about spending millions and millions of ringgit on skyscrappers in Kuala Lumpur, the high poverty rate of Sabah was neglected.
 
Tony who is also a Member of Parliament was speaking at a DAP gathering held at a restaurant in Inanam, here. Another DAP MP from Kuala Lumpur, Teo Nei Ching of Serdang was present.
 
Sabah DAP chief Jimmy Wong in his welcoming speech said both the previous Usno and Berjaya governments did something good for the people of Sabah.
 
"Both Usno and Berjaya did something unique and interesting.
 
For example, the low-cost housing started by Usno involving only six posts was laughed at by many at that time.
 
"But today, these 'rumah enam tiang' are now sitting on premium land and have become expensive properties. We can at least praise Usno for lifting the economic status of the people," he said.
 
On Berjaya, the Sri Tanjung Assemblyman stated then Chief Minister Datuk Harris Salleh started giving away 15 acres for every Sabahan.
 
"This was a brilliant policy of the Berjaya government and today those people who retained the land and planted them with oil palm are much better off than many people working in the urban areas."
 
He added that on the contrary, the PBS government did a disservice to the people of Sabah when it cancelled the policy of giving each Sabahan 15 acres and instead gave away huge tracts of land to non-Sabahans for oil palm plantations.
 
"Today's BN government seems proud to award communal titles to the natives which is akin to the Red Indians being confined to their 'reservations' in America," he said.
 
The gathering was supposed to have been a public forum on poverty in Sabah.
 
However, due to the lack of a police permit, it was converted to a discussion.
 
Among those present were former Suhakam Vice-Chairman and MACC advisor Tan Sri Simon Sipaun and academician Dr Ong Kian Meng.
 
Representatives of DAP's fellow Pakatan Rakyat component parties were also there.
 
PKR was represented by its new Sabah liaison chief Ustaz Pajudin Nordin while PAS state deputy chief Hj
Aminuddin Aling was also there.

Meanwhile, DAP apologised to patrons of the restaurant where the gathering was held who were summoned for parking their vehicles by the road side.