KOTA KINABALU: Sepanggar MP Datuk Azis Jamman’s allegation that the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) State Government has given away land to the Central Government is akin to denying Sabahans the rights to federal-funded amenities.
GRS Information Chief Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said AZIS Jamman’s misguided contention was obviously a desperate attack by Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) to discredit the present State Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
“The Chief Minister has explained that it has been done according to procedures and that it is for the benefit of the Sabah people whereby the lands are for our schools, hospitals, police stations and other public amenities,” he said in a statement, here, Saturday.
Joniston also recalled the widely reported plan by Warisan president and former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal to resettle the illegal immigrants in an island in Sabah.
“The Warisan-led State government wanted to give an island to the PTI (illegal immigrants) but now Azis Jamman is questioning the approval of lands for federal funded projects which would greatly benefit the locals,” he said.
Joniston urged Azis Jamman to stop bragging about the handing over of 10,000 land titles to applicants during Warisan time.
“He is saying as though Warisan have a magic wand that they can issue land titles in a blink of an eye when in actual reality those titles were processed during the Barisan Nasional era.
“Warisan had the easy task of handing them over to the land owners and claimed credit much like what Azis Jamman is doing right now,” said Joniston who is also Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister.
By the way, Joniston said under the native land service programme or Pantas, initiated by the BN government, the GRS State Government received RM20 million from Federal compared to only RM7 million when Warisan was leading the State Government.
“Azis Jamman should instead answer the questions about the controversial fire incidents in no less than 10 squatter settlements throughout Sabah within six months Warisan and its allies took over the State Government,” he said.
Joniston said Azis Jamman should explain whether all the fire cases were merely coincidence because people recalled the Warisan government telling the world that the squatters who lost their homes in the fire would be given land and have their identity document replaced.
“It is openly known that those squatting in illegal settlements are mostly illegal immigrants. So, if there is anything that Azis Jamman wanted to be clarified is this,” he said.
“Lest you forget public opinion about you when you were the Deputy Home Minister,” he said.
