KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Vice President David Ong has called on Sabah UMNO, particularly under Bung Moktar’s leadership, to stop playing the blame game and start taking responsibility for the mess left behind by their administration. Rather than pointing fingers at the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government, UMNO should examine why these issues arose in the first place.
David Ong’s remarks come in response to a recent statement from Sabah UMNO’s assistant secretary, Alfian Sambas, who accused GRS of failing to effectively manage infrastructure issues. This accusation conveniently overlooks the fact that UMNO was directly responsible for the mismanagement of these projects during their governance.
Bung Moktar, who served as the former Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Works, neglected to address Sabah’s longstanding road issues, which have consistently ranked among the worst in Malaysia under his watch. When UMNO held power, they had numerous opportunities to resolve these infrastructure problems. What concrete actions did Sabah UMNO take to address these issues during Bung Moktar’s leadership? As the Sabah BN Chairman since December 2018, his contributions have been marred by corruption scandals rather than developmental progress.
Take Kinabatangan, Bung Moktar’s own constituency, as a prime example. Under his supervision, public infrastructure suffered gravely, with roads marred by potholes, inadequate maintenance, and posing significant dangers to road users. Did he take action to remedy this situation? The answer is no. It was only after GRS assumed control that genuine repairs and improvements began to materialize.
The same can be said for Sabah’s ongoing water crisis. Bung held a position of influence to tackle the persistent water supply issues but chose instead to engage in political maneuvering, leaving the current government to deal with the fallout. In contrast, GRS has successfully secured RM320 million in federal funding to address critical water shortages and expand water treatment facilities.
The GRS-led State Government has already allocated RM2.6 billion towards infrastructure repairs. If Bung Moktar and his team genuinely care about Sabah’s future, I urge him to leverage his position within UMNO to secure an additional RM1 billion for federal road repairs. Such an initiative would be far more beneficial than their usual cycle of empty rhetoric.
The people of Sabah demand concrete action, not more excuses. While UMNO continues to talk, GRS is focused on delivering results. It’s time for UMNO Sabah to stop portraying themselves as victims and to start accepting accountability for their past decisions.-pr/BNN
