Be patient, Dr M tells Sabahans, Sarawakians
Progressive: I'm a West Malaysian. I ask my brothers in East Malaysia not to be fooled again by this spin doctor.Be patient, said former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad. But come and take a look at multi-billion ringgit Putrajaya that was built by Petronas, using oil and gas money from Sabah and Sarawak.
Is there any place like that in Sabah and Sarawak? Come take a look at the multi-billion ringgit Petronas Twin Towers. Is there anything like that in Sabah and Sarawak?
What do you have in Sabah and Sarawak? Poverty, stagnation, greed and corruption. Forty-nine years is enough. It's time for change. And Sabahans and Sarawakians hold the key to this change.
Starr: "Sarawak has the highest foreign direct investment and Sabah has the largest reserves of petroleum in the country," said Mahathir.
And yet, he asked Sarawakians and Sabahans to be patient and wait "for the resources to be extracted and soon your earnings (and development) will increase." Mahathir must think that Sarawakians and Sabahans are all stupid.
For all the years since coercing the two states to sign away their petroleum rights, federal coffers have been reaping hugely from the petroleum revenue to the extent that 40 percent of the national budgets are funded by petroleum revenue, of which Sarawak and Sabah are the biggest contributors.
And yet, he has the audacity of asking the rakyat of the two states to wait for their turn. How can he ask the 'poorer' cousins to subsidise their 'richer' cousins across the South China Sea? Is it not the case of robbing the poor and giving to the rich?
Odin: Mahathir, Sabahans and Sarawakians have waited and been patient for 49 long years while your BN stole them blind. Your statement that the development of the two states had outstripped the peninsula is utter rubbish.
Any West Malaysians who have been to the two states and stayed there long enough to see the situation would know and confirm that.
As at June 2011, a total of 55,975 households in Sarawak were registered under the 'hardcore poor' category. Remember, those living in inaccessible areas in the interior would not have been covered.
The sad fact of life is that those who are poor usually have a big family. If we assume that there are about four children in a family on the average, then we have 335,850 very poor people. That's 13ï¡Â9 percent of the population (2.42 million) in Sarawak.
It is heart-rending, considering Sarawak's vast natural resources. You can fool those ignorant of all this, but not we who are aware.
Abasir: The questioner should have asked Mahathir to explain the wealth of the chief minister who obviously knows a secret way to lift his living standards unlike the people who have been told to be patient.
Stamford: Sabahans and Sarawakians have the right to take matters into their own hands and expedite their development, especially via a perfectly legal means such as elections. Who is Mahathir to tell them they should continue to endure lack of development?
Conmen: "Mahathir also hit out at those who made much ado about his ‘devil they know' remark... Those comments can only come from those who do not understand... It is an English saying."
Serves him right. What goes around comes around. There was a time in the distant past when the Straits Times of Singapore referred to him as the "top dog of the country" and he made a big fuss out of it. He said it was an insullt to infer a Muslim leader as dogs or mutts, and it was haram in Islam and all the crap.
That time he was seeking a fight with Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore over some puny trifling issues. Now the devil is talking and he should know he was not the least unhappy when people call him "the top dog". He was merely playing mind games or playing politics of deception with the people.
Sabahans and Sarawakians will only have themselves to blame if they continue to support Umno-BN and allow the corrupt regime to return to power yet again in GE13.
Don't ever for a moment forget that it was the devil himself who sold you out with his devious ‘Projek M' that will forever seal your collective fates for the next 50 years or so.
LittleGiant: It is almost 50 years since Sabah and Sarawak became part of Malaysia. I don't see any reason or logic in asking the East Malaysians to be patient and wait for development.
Wait for another 50 years? Why should they? Are they not citizens of Malaysia? Are they not part of the '1Malaysia' concept propagated by PM Najib Razak?
The people of Sabah and Sarawak know well that BN leaders have only shown more interest in 'depleting' these two states of its natural resources rather than developing these resource-rich states to be on par with states in the peninsula. The people of Sabah and Sarawak have been taken for granted far too long by BN-friendly politicians there.
The lavish lifestyles enjoyed by these politicians is proof that they are more keen and focused on their 'own foreign investments' and have never really cared for the proper development of these states.
East Malaysians have equal rights with Malaysians in the peninsula and have the right to demand for development and progress.
Jacob: "In truth, development is higher in Sabah/Sarawak than in the peninsula"? That is a blatant lie and Sabahans and Sarawakians should condemn Mahathir for that.
When Dr M was so busy building Putrajaya and KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre), he forgotten that people in Sabah and Sarawak were without running water, electricity, decent public housing and proper roads.
Wira: For 49 years, the East Malaysian states had faithfully remained in the federation. That's two generations.
Sarawakians and Sabahans who were teenagers when the Malaysia merger took place are grandparents today. Is it fair for them to wait another two generations?
Even Muslim Xinjiang in China sees more rapid growth and progress. To add insult to injury, Najib went to Sabah and claimed 'Janji Ditepati" as if all Malaysians are blind.
Anonymous_rb345: Mahathir, you should tell your son, Mukhriz, to be patient too and don't be too ambitious to become the Kedah menteri besar. He should wait for another 50 years.
Dark Knight: Mahathir's answer was simple. "Just be patient and wait for (Umno and its cronies to exploit) the resources to be extracted (and exploited without care for Sabahans and Sarawakians) and soon your earnings (from whatever we have left behind) will increase (a little from your pathetic income you earn now)."
Jayan: My head is in a spin after reading this article. I feel like vomiting.
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