SMALL-HOLDERS IN KENINGAU ARE SELLING THEIR PRODUCTS AT 50% LESS THAN THEIR COUNTERPARTS IN WEST MALAYSIA BECAUSE UNFAIR CABOTAGE POLICY?

"High-cost of doing business in Sabah due to unfair Cabotage Policy,call for changes': Dr.Jeffrey

18th January, 2011 KOTA KINABALU: United Borneo Front (UBF) Leader Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has urged Members of Parliament (MPs) from Sabah to seek changes to any imbalance and unfair policy like the Cabotage Policy which contributes to high cost of living in Sabah.

He made the call in response to complaints from the business community, during the UBF gathering held in Keningau over the weekend, concerning the high-cost of doing business due to the Cabotage Policy.

“If we need to amend unfair policies in future, Sabah and Sarawak must have an increase in the number of MPs currently represented,” he added.

Besides discussing the disparity in prices of common foodstuffs and household goods between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah due to the Cabotage Policy, those present at the gathering also debated on increasing the potential income of smallholders to the same level as those in the peninsular.

It was lamented that currently, small-holders in Keningau are selling their products at 50% less than their counterparts in West Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Dr Jeffrey called for the restoration of Sabah’s historical facts especially the part on the formation of Federation of Malaysia, in the history lesson taught in the schools.

“Many generations now have no access to the stories of the remarkable lives of the forefathers from Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

He also said compulsory reading and texts which should form part of the SPM and STPM courses should include the Malaysia Agreement, the 20 and 18 points from Sabah and Sarawak, the Inter-Governmental Committee Report in 1962, the Cobbold Commission Report of 1962, among UBF co-founder cum spokesperson, Nilakrisna James said the said gathering was attended by a significant number first-time young voters under 30 who showed interest in learning more about the legal documents and historical records.

----

UBF: M'sia formation can no longer be excluded in schools

"History has shown that the way West Malaysia interprets history is different from the way Sabah and Sarawak would interpret the history.

"Unless we had full autonomy and control on our educational curriculum in Sabah and Sarawak, the truth of history can be manipulated and interpreted to suit the West Malaysian bias.

"At present, the most crucial documents leading up to September 16, 1963 have been obliterated from Malaysia's educational curriculum and many generations now have been denied access to the stories of the remarkable lives of forefathers from Sabah and Sarawak, which is a travesty,"