KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government must appoint qualified Sabahans to lead committees that are to discuss state-related issues.
Former Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said that when issues affecting the state arise, it is standard procedure for the Chief Minister to form a committee to study the matter.
“The committee would discuss and debate the issue and take into consideration the legal, social and economic aspects before presenting it to either the Cabinet or the State Assembly,” Anifah said.
He however added that in order for the recommendations to be useful and be adopted by the state, qualified people must be appointed to be members and to lead these committees.
“We have to move away from appointing politicians to lead committees simply because they are Assemblymen or Cabinet Ministers or hail from the same party as the state leadership.
“What solutions can be proposed other than political rhetoric when the committee is comprised of politicians who have no prior experience in dealing with the matters discussed?” said Anifah, who is also Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) President.
Anifah also said that besides committees, Sabah would not be able to move forward if leadership posts are given to people with no qualifications or experience.
“I understand that in a democracy, it is important for the Head of Government to reward party members with positions of leadership. However, careful selection must be made to ensure only those who are qualified should be given leadership posts,” he said.
Anifah, who is also former Kimanis MP said that the lack of experience among those appointed to leadership position would be detrimental for the state especially when issues cannot be solved especially those relating to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“Our fight for MA63 to be honoured would be futile and we would still be left behind if we cannot come up with solutions to the existing problems such as the status of Sabah within Malaysia; the oil royalty; the 40 percent returns from the Federal Government; civil service jobs and etc.
“The people of Sabah want proper solutions to the problems faced by Sabahans instead of political rhetoric,” he added.
