SAPP on SEDIA Bill 2009

Kota Kinabalu (Jan 11, 2009): Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) is worried of the implications the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA) Bill 2009 might have on the state Government's authority.

Its President Datuk Yong Teck Lee in expressing the party's worries yesterday said,”our concern is that the Bill might erode the powers of the state Government, its agencies including Local Government, Land and town planning from the state to Federal authorities.

“We have to be very careful as to what are the implications of the SEDIA Bill as unlike Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, the Sabah Development Corridor encompasses the whole state,” he said.

SAPP state elected representatives namely Datuk Liew Teck Chan (Likas) and Melanie Chia (Luyang) is likely to debate on the implications during the special State Assembly Sitting on January 15 for the tabling of the SEDIA Bill 2009.

Yong who was met after SAPP leaders' Chinese New Year walkabout in Gaya Street here, said they are trying to a copy of the Bill on Monday so that they can study what are the implications.

He added that during the SAPP Supreme Council meeting on Saturday they discussed the SEDIA Bill and all expressed their worries about what could happen to the State Government's authority.

“What are the implications, we will try to find out tomorrow (Monday). We are surprised that up to now they still have not announced the core characteristics of the SEDIA Bill. It should have been announced by now,” he said.

Meanwhile on the RM1 billion special allocation each for Sabah and Sarawak which was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last year, Yong said it was approved in view of the demands from both the Governments for more development funds.

Yong said that in the July 2008 Supplementary Bill sitting, SAPP's elected representatives realized that there was no provision for the RM1 billion.

“Then when the annual national budget was tables in September, there was still no provision for this RM1 billion. We have always had reasonable suspicion that the RM1 billion that was promised by the PM never came.

“What Tan Sri Bernard Dompok reviewed today confirmed our reasonable suspicions that the RM 1 billion was all empty talk and if this is the attitude, we have to be very careful about what are the promises in the proposed SDC especially in the tabling of the Bill this Thursday,” he said.