Prejudice and the ugly face of BN in Sabah

Luke Rintod

Certain departments in Sabah are taking in only Muslim applicants and no Christians, no matter how well qualified.

PENAMPANG: Yet another leader of the Sabah chapter of the State Reform Party (STAR) has cried foul over religious discrimination against the native Christians in the state.

Sabah STAR women’s wing chief, Melanie Annol, said there had been increasing reports and claims that both the federal and state governments are willfully sidelining native Christians in job opportunities and promotions in public service and government-linked bodies in the state.

In supporting STAR leader Daniel John Jambun’s recent call on authorities and politicians to stop harrasing Christians in Malaysia, Annol stressed that victimisation in Sabah is real and that the native Christians had chosen to keep it to themselves until now.

“I would like to direct the world attention to this systematic racial discrimination against native Christians especially the Kadazandusun – Murut groups, the original people in Sabah.

“These natives were supposed to lead the state and be as dominant but what had happened was they had been willfully left behind and sidelined by the ruling Barisan Nasional in almost every spectrum of opportunity in government offices,” she said in a statement issued here today.

Annol who is also STAR head for Penampang, claimed that in some cases of new recruitment of staff, certain departments were taking in only Muslim applicants and no Christians, no matter how well qualified.

“There had been reports where the entire intake of staff were always Muslims and only one or two from the Kadazandusun natives managed to get in, even that was because they were Muslim Kadazandusuns.

“I stand proud to be able to highlight this discrimination now before it gets out of hand and as we look ahead to seek a fair treatment from a fairer government.

“What I am saying is the truth and its happening in Sabah.

“We never envisaged it to be like this bad. The late Tun Mustapha Harun and Tun Fuad Stephens must be cringing in their graves seeing the unbelievable now is happening in Sabah,” she said.

Annol also pointed out that even in institution of higher learning like Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) one can see the overwhelming “imbalance” in term of opportunity for the Christian natives staff.

“I don’t believe that race and religion were not a criteria when the authorities recruit or promote officers in their departments. It just defies logic that Kadazandusun Christians find it is very hard now to get employment in public services and those once inside find it even more difficult to get promotion.

“In UMS I only see two prominent Kadazandusun names – Prof Felix Tongkul and Prof Marcus Jopony – among the most senior officers,” she said based on what was printed in the university’s book for its recent convocation weeks ago.

Marginalised by Muslims and Malayans

She said according to latest record all the top seven officials of UMS are from one community.

Currently the vice-chancellor is Prof Mohd Harun Abdullah, three deputy vice chancellors Prof Shariff Abdul Kadir Shariff Omang, Prof Shahril Yusof, and Associate Prof Kasim Md Mansur, the registrar is Abdullah Mohd Said while the Bursar is headed by Rizal Othman.

The chief Librarian is Dayang Rukiah Awang Amit.

The 32-member UMS Senate are all from the same community except for one Indian, one Chinese and Dr Jopony and Dr Tongkul.

In Yayasan Sabah too, the natives Christians experienced the same thing, she alleged.

“There are even cases where long-serving Kadazandusun officers remain in their Division Two position while new intake without experience climbed the ladder faster to become the bosses.

“In some cases in statutory bodies, the people there just created positions for themselves.

“You can even find some politicians from particular community occupying certain duplicate positions in government bodies for reasons best known to the ruling party,” Annol further charged.

She also claimed that job opportunities meant for locals had for the past 10 years been taken by Malayans especially in the federal departments and statutory bodies as well as federal-linked companies.

“Just look at the police department, education sector, Felcra, Risda, Immigration, National Registration Department, Road Transport Department, and so on.

“Even police constables and kindergarten teachers are now from Peninsular, what happened to our local boys and girls who come out in thousands from school every year ?” she lamented adding that one can see Malayan policemen manning roadblocks everywhere in Sabah.