BN boo-boo: Musa urged to explain land buy-back
By Luke Rintod, Free Malaysia Today
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman’s decision to re-acquire portions of the 60,000 hectares of fertile land in Pitas and Kota Marudu districts, which the state government once gave away to a Kuala Lumpur company, is raising eyebrows.
Musa announced this week the acquisition and re-allotment of some of the land to natives who, several years ago, begged him not to cede the land to the company.
Describing Musa’s decision as “a glaring theft”, Common Interest Group Malaysia (CigMa) deputy president Daniel John Jambun said: “This is an act of smart modern-day theft.
“The CM’s announcement sounds as if BN is now admitting it was a mistake to give away the 60,000 hectares.
“But why in the first place did BN not listen to the natives in the 35 affected kampung?
“Musa claimed his earlier move was due to (the decision of) the previous BN leaders. I challenge him to name the BN leaders so that the truth will prevail.”
Big sum of public money
Daniel, who is also a senior leader in Sabah PKR, said the norm in Sabah under the Umno-led government is that whenever a decision involving a big sum of public money takes place, there would be people who make lots of money out of nothing.
“It is all about money. Last time the natives of Pitas and Kota Marudu objected very strongly to it. But this same BN government refused to heed them because of money.
“If not because of money, the BN leaders would have listened to them.
“Now the state government wants to re-acquire the land from the company, which means public money is once more to be used.
“This is a glaring theft, isn’t it?” he said, adding that re-acquiring it even if only a small portion of the 60,000 hectares will need millions of ringgits from the state treasury.
“And as usual, along the way someone close to the power, God’s know who, will make some money,” Daniel told FMT today.
“Having said that, it is the fault of the people in Kota Marudu and Pitas too, for they continued to vote in this Umno-led BN.
“In the next election, they’d better think deeply, or their generations will lose more…” he warned his fellow natives there who are mostly of the Rungus, Kimaragang and Dusun ethnic groups.
