Wrong to appoint unqualified outsider to head council

PENAMPANG - A Sabah opposition leader today said it is wrong to appoint a Sarawakian as president of the Sandakan Municipal Council (MPS) as many locals are qualified for the job.

Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Jeffrey Kitingan said this was another mistake by the state government.

“It is wrong for them to do that,” he told reporters after attending the Sabah Day celebration here today.

Kitingan said the new MPS president, Hii Chang Lik, is a “timber man” and never served in the civil service.

Hence, he said, it is ludicrous that the businessman is suddenly charged with running the municipal council of the second most important city in Sabah.

“You can imagine what kind of municipal council it is going to be. When somebody from the top appoints you to a post, it is natural that you will be beholden to that person.

“In this case, this individual will listen more to the directives of the housing and local government ministry instead of the grassroots, namely the councillors,” he said.

Instead of filling the post with a political appointee, Kitingan suggested the president of the council should be elected by the councillors instead.

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee, however, preferred to give the state government the chance to explain the rationale behind the appointment.

“I would consider Hii to be a Sabahan of Sarawak origin. I know there have been comments that he is not a Sabahan.

“But he has been in Sabah for many years, worked here, has business here, so I would consider him a Sabahan,” he told reporters.

However, Yong, who is also a former chief minister, said while Hii’s origin should not pose too much of a problem, the government still has to explain why the businessman is qualified for the job.

“It is not so much about where he was born. There are many people like him in Sabah,” he said.

By Tracy Patrick (news published in FMT on 31/8/18)