Speech of LDP Deputy President Ybh Datuk Chin Su Phin at the Annual General Meeting

By Datuk Chin Su Phin

Today we are gathered here for the Tg Kapor division AGM. This auspicious event brings to mind the contributions made by our former President Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat, particularly during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Sabah. His wisdom then was to bring development and progress to the State, particularly Kudat, because in the past Kudat had been dubbed as a "sleepy" town.

It can not be denied though that as the Chief Minister then, Kah Kiat had brought in investors and channeled Government funds to transform Kudat's infrastructure and economy. Today, there are international standard golf course, resort, sports complex and the famous esplanade in Kudat.

Kah Kiat also put Kudat on the global tourism map through the development and promotion of the Tip of Borneo. He brought the Sunset Orchestra to perform at the Tip of Borneo. Unfortunately, after Kah Kiat's two-year term as Chief Minister, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment stopped this internationally acclaimed musical event.

As the Chief Minister then, Kah Kiat also proposed the Tungku Abdul Rahman College (TAR) campus to be set up in Kudat. Again, due to political factors, this proposal was rejected.

Kah Kiat also wanted to turn Kudat into a world class tourists destination during his time as the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment. He proposed to build the Goddess of the Sea or Mazu Statue as yet another tourism icon to lure more tourists especially from China and Taiwan to come to Sabah, and to Kudat in particular.

As a Christian, I am not in a position to comment on this issue. But the principle is that this project had gone through the appropriate channel before it was duly approved by the local authority. The project was already halfway through completion, when it was suddenly halted.

This Mazu project is not personal to Kah Kiat, but it is concering the entire Sabah people. As such, we are sad to hear the from the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz who claimed that 10,000 people had signed a memorandum opposing the project. As far as I know, the voters from the Muslim community in Kudat are less than 10,000 and so I do not understand what Nazri was talking about.

Everywhere I go in Kudat, I never met anyone including the Malays who objected the project. Only a small number of people, for reasons known to themselves, were deliberately opposed to the Mazu statue. We know who these small group of people are; they are being exploited by certain quarters.

The LDP central leadership had met with the then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over the Mazu issue. We explain to him clearly about the distance of the site of the project from the mosque. Abdullah actually disagreed with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and instructed the authorities concerned to withdraw the directive that stopped the project. Somehow, Musa ordered the local authority to withdraw the approval it had given earlier. And, while the case is still pending in court, the Chief Minister approved another Mazu project in Kudat. Although we know that the Hainan Association did apply for such a project earlier on, but there was no metioned about Kudat as the site for the statue. The Association submitted their land application for the project quite recently, which was approved by the Chief Minister in just a short period of time. In contrast, other land applications took years to be processed. Again, this is a case of double-standard and it is one of the reasons for the people dissatisfaction with the Government.

From the time Kiat got the stoppage directive, he was given 14 days only to give an explanation as to why his Mazu project should not be classified as illegal. Under local authority system, there is no avenue for him to make an appeal. Kah Kiat got no other choice and sought legal redress from the court to prove that he did nothing wrong.

Nevertheless, when Kah Kiat's case was halfway through the trial at the High Court, the other parties claimed that his Mazu foundation was not registered.

The principle here is that since the Chief Minister instructed the local authority to withdraw that appoval it made earlier, then Musa should explain to the people. But, he did not have the courage to give his explanation in court and, as the Chief Minister, he should not shirk from his responsibility.

Actually, the LDP central leadership came to see then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi not once but twice. During the second meeting, we reasoned to him why the Mazu development plan should not be withdrawn. We felt sad when Abdullah told us that he himself do not know what to do.

It is our sincere hope in LDP that unlike his predecessor, our current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak shall come up with a positive solution to the Mazu issue.

It is a fact that the people appreciated the Federal Government's allocations in developing the State. But the respect for each other's race and religious belief is equally important for us and must be uphold by the Government. Otherwise, nobody can give the assurance that the people will not give their support and votes to the Opposition.

In this regard, the LDP would like to advise the Federal Government to remember the political history of Sabah. For instance, when Datuk Harris Mohd Salleh become so powerful during the then Berjaya government, he somehow ignored Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan. But, little did Harris and the people have thought that Pairin's influence caused the downfall of Berjaya government in 1984. Similarly, none had expected that Datuk Yong Teck Lee's decision to quit Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) was among the vital factors that led to PBS downfall 10 years later in 1994.

Today, the Barisan Nasional (BN) is in power. Datuk Yong Teack Lee and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) quit the BN after about 14 years with the coalition. We need to look at this political development seriously because no one can assure that no other BN leaders or component parties will leave the coalition.

Should the BN leadership fail to look at the many issues in Sabah seriously, we dare not give any guarantee either that history shall not repeat itself in Sabah's politics.

Therefore, it is our sincere hope in LDP that Datuk Najib Tun Razak shall  appropriately exert his powers as the Prime Minister in resolving Sabah's problems as soon as possible in order to regain the trust and confidence of the people.