Sabah is full of deadwood leaders

If we construct an index on deadwood leaders, Sabah may come on top – as it is now that is the only thing of which Sabah can be proud.

Some of them demanded a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants (RCI) to be established because they were worried about the suspicious population growth.

Some even go to the extent of accusing the government of diluting the local population for political purposes. Perhaps they may be right but using dissent and providing no solid evidence it is just disagreement.

Finally, the government relents and established a RCI and the report came out which will require a permanent committee to oversee.

It took the prime minister to offer the job to the deputy chief minister of Sabah who was vocal about the “population reengineering”.

This is the same leader who procrastinates, dragging his own feet using the term of reference and the letter of appointment from Kuala Lumpur.

Until today, it is just a lot of lip service and nothing on action, the excuse given still waiting for the letter of appointment from Putrajaya. Do we then blame Putrajaya or do we blame the local leader who is clueless over the delay.

Then from the same political mould, we have Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili out of the blue demanding for a fairer and equitable distribution of power.

Just because the people perceive Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) as not playing much role despite holding the post of deputy chief minister.

The same deputy chief minister who is responsible for infrastructure development in Sabah.

Ongkili, who hails from Kota Marudu, demands more political power when he has been a federal minister position for so long that he and his president, who is the minister of infrastructure development, could not even resolve a simple water supply problem in Kota Marudu.

As a senior minister in the federal cabinet, Ongkili should realise his failing first, resolve the issues in his constituency before making such a demand.

His own president, given the opportunity to get all the power he needs to do something about the population issue in Sabah, is now dragging his feet.

Both from the same party holding positions both at the federal and state cabinets still failed to resolve water supply problem and are now demanding for more power.

Are power and positions just tokens and trophies to be collected by them? To be worn as badges of merits to show off to their ignorant followers?

What happened to your duties and responsibilities to the people you represent?

This sickness, however, is not restricted to just one segment of the political spectrum.

We have a federal minister of housing and wellbeing and a minister of local government in Sabah who actually comes from the same kampung, in fact, are kin.

Yet both failed to resolve flood issues in the urban areas. So what use is power and position when you have failed in your duties and responsibilities?

The only consolation that Sabah may have is that, exception to the rule, we have a Sabahan minister who is actually making us proud.

He talks sense in the United Nations on humanity, he has to step in when our own ministers make idiotic remarks to the ire of friendly countries and he secured the United Nations Security Council seat for Malaysia.

It is unfortunate we only have one Datuk Seri Anifah Aman to offer to the country and one out of the many still cannot make any difference in a country and a state full of deadwood leaders. – January 14, 2015.

* Zainnal Ajamain is the secretary-general of a newly formed political party in Sabah.