Kota Kinabalu (Jan 19, 2009): Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) today said that the Sabah Deputy Chief Minister cum PBS President Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan has also confirmed that the RM 1 billion grant for Sabah announced by the Prime Minster in May last year has not been fulfilled.

Sapp president, Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee called on the entire Sabah State BN Cabinet to make sure that the Prime Minister fulfills his promise of RM 1 billion grant to the Sabah in the interest of the people and the State or else the Sabah State BN Cabinet shall be answerable to the people of Sabah.

"If this BN State Government fails to secure this missing RM 1 billion, then it would be a dereliction of duty on the part of the BN and its leaders. It would also be another big lie perpetrated against the people of Sabah. No amount of calls for re-branding of BN by PBS leaders will prevent the fall of the BN government as warned by the Kalabakan MP Datuk Seri Ghapur Salleh." added Yong.

"It was amazing how the PBS President so casually tried to explain away the missing RM 1 billion special grant by saying that federal grants are disbursed from time to time and that thee is no problem. It was with good reason that SAPP has been highlighting the missing RM 1 billion because SAPP was already suspicious that the so-called RM 1 billion grant was a bluff when not a single cent was allocated in the July 2008 Federal Supplementary Budget. Again, the RM 1 billion did not appear in either the 2009 Budget tabled in September 2008 or the RM 7 billion stimulus package in November by the Deputy PM cum Minster of Finance.

"At the time, the State Government and Ministers should have made use of the voices of SAPP to demand the fulfillment of the RM 1 billion grant to press the federal government to allocate the fund urgently. If the Sabah BN Ministers had used Sabah’s political leverage in the window of opportunity after the March 2008 general elections to fight for Sabah, then Sabah would have received the RM 1 billion and other rights and benefits. Perhaps, then the Sabah Ministry of Rural Development would have got at least RM 300 million for rural projects in Sabah. Then, PBS’s Deputy President cum federal Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department would not have to resort to begging the National Security Council for a meagre RM 1.1 million to rebuild three Kota Marudu suspension bridges which were washed away more tan a year ago.

"In two month’s time, this current PM who made the announcement of the RM 1 billion grant would be out of office and out of the country. SAPP hopes it will not take a by-election in Pensiangan to make BN government fulfill the RM 1 billion promise. The people of Sabah will remember that the BN federal government had expended billions of ringgits in petroleum royalties, grants and other benefits given to Terengganu leading to the Kuala Terengganu by-election last week." Yong said.