Yong: I am not outdated, I remember history
THE people of Sabah lived in harmony without racial or religious conflicts with no communist threat and very little crime before Malaysia was formed. Sabah then was governed by London with a locally appointed Legislative Council.
And Sabah was the richest State in the country when Sabah formed Malaysia with Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya in 1963, after Brunei opted out. However, after the formation of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur began to control Sabah’s politics, said Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee.
“Apart from being the poorest State, Sabah is now riddled with imported racism and religious suspicions,” he said in a statement responding to the Deputy Prime Minister who had said Datuk Yong was “outdated” in comparing Kuala Lumpur with the British colonialists.
The former Chief Minister said the Sabah Head of State has to be advised by the head of Barisan Nasional ruling coalition in Kuala Lumpur before swearing in the Chief Minister.
Yong said things got worse when even Members of Parliament and Assemblymen have to be endorsed by Kuala Lumpur before they can become election candidates. “Hence our political leaders have become subservient to Kuala Lumpur,” he added. “In reality, Sabah has lost whatever autonomy that our founding fathers expected in 1963,” he said.
