If elected to office, the local four-party opposition pact which includes PHRS has promised to provide Sabahans with sealed roads, clean water supply, amenities and infrastructure.
“It will be ‘super development’ compared to what the Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) government has failed to do for the last 15 years, since 2003 when the rotation of the chief minister post was stopped and held only by Umno,” Lajim said in a statement today.
He said Sabah BN and the federal government had recently claimed that the state had been developed thanks to BN and that the poverty rate had been reduced to 2.9%.
“However, the reality is the opposite. Sabah is the poorest state in Malaysia with about 40% of all poor Malaysians being Sabahans.”
According to Lajim, the lack of development was due in part to the BN federal and state governments refusing to implement the 40% net revenue that Sabah is entitled to receive from the income derived from the state, as provided in the Federal Constitution.
“It only costs about RM2.5 billion to seal all the rural roads in Sabah. It may cost a bit more at the present time. I know, because I did up the proposal to seal the rural roads while I was a minister, and it was approved by the prime minister. But unfortunately, the funds never came from the federal government for implementation.”
He said a Gabungan Sabah government would be committed to implementing the return of the 40% net revenue.
“For the first year the 40% is received, it will be distributed to all Sabahans, with each expected to receive about RM3,125.
“A family of 10 including children will receive RM31,250, which is almost 20 times the RM1,200 BR1M payment.
“It will help Sabahans with their cash flow and generate the Sabah economy with a multiplier effect,” he said.
Lajim, who is Klias incumbent, said for subsequent years, the 40% revenue would be used to seal all roads, build at least 20 water treatment plants for the supply of clean water, provide welfare for all Sabahans including non-working and single mothers, provide scholarships and uplift education.
He said Sabah would become a better international tourism destination while Kota Kinabalu would become an international trade hub with its own light rail transit system. It would also be a regional shopping centre, he added.
“Sabah is our own house and rich with resources. If we do not take care and develop our own house, we can’t rely on others to build and develop Sabah.”
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