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Kota Kinabalu: No amount of apology by Parti Warisan President Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal will heal the Chinese community over the use of the word “ekor” (tail) to describe them as it is very degrading, said Datuk Dr Roland Chia.“The Chinese are not animals nor lowlifes. They were integral in the formation of Sabah and Malaysia. To label us as ekor is demeaning,” he said in a statement Thursday.

Chia, who is Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, said it reflected the inner thoughts and actions of one leader. “I urge the Chinese community to take stock and reflect when we cast our ballot on Nov. 19, on whether we should vote for a party that labels us as animals and resort to gutter politics by demeaning a single race as ‘ekor’. “This will go down as history that a former Sabah Chief Minister and former federal minister resort to ekor politics. We must reject ekor politics,” he said.

He also refuted Shafie’s claim that there are zero Chinese representatives in the GRS-BN government led by Chief Minister Hajiji Haji Noor, citing Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee as a Nominated Assemblyman.

Chia cited Datuk Seri Yee Moh Chai the Chairman of Sabah Credit Corporation, Datuk Edward Yong as Chairman of Hyatt International Hotel, Datuk Vincent Pung who heads Sabah Development Bank, Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat as Special Advisor on Tourism to Chief Minister, Datuk Peter Thien as the Special Advisor on Finance and Economy to the Chief Minister, Datuk Adeline Leong as Chairman of Institute for Development Studies (IDS) Sabah, among others.

“The Chief Minister also formed the Sabah Economic Advisory Council (SEAC) whose members are Sabahan Chinese industrialists to advise the Sabah Government.

“He also allocated the highest to non-Muslim organisations including Chinese schools (independent and government), Chinese temples, Mission schools, churches and Hindu temples. “This year, the GRS-BN State Government provided RM47 million and next year RM54 million, as announced by the Chief Minister himself,” he said.

On the investment front, Chia said many Chinese investors have expressed confidence in the leadership of the CM in bringing all parties to form GRS, thus creating political stability in Sabah.

“I urge the community to reject parties that label us as dogs and cats,” he said. Meanwhile, another Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Ceasar Mandela Malakun said the Warisan-led State Government almost destroyed the State’s economy, shrinking Sabah’s GDP from a high of 8.2 per cent in 2017 to -9.2 per cent in 2020.

Ceasar, who is Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Penampang Youth Chief, said Sabahans suffered because of the economic slowdown. “This is why the people chose to oust Warisan and their partners Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 2020 Sabah election.

“Sabahans saved the State by voting for leaders who they knew can turn the economy around.

“In only 15 months, the GRS-BN State Government managed to get Sabah’s economy back on track. Last year, after a continuous downtrend during the Warisan government, Sabah managed to bring its GDP back in the green at 1.1 per cent,” said Mandela.

Mandela said Warisan President Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal can argue it is not his fault  and that the whole nation also suffered from negative GDP.

However, he (Shafie) forgot to mention that of all the states, Sabah’s was the worst. “Even Kelantan recorded only -1.2 per cent GDP growth. Sabah’s GDP was way worse than the national average of -5.5 per cent.

“The fact that the current State Government managed to resuscitate the economy to 1.1 per cent GDP growth last year was nothing short of a miracle. “Under the GRS-BN Government, Sabah is back on track. Sabah’s revenue hit a record breaking RM5.449 billion in 2021 and this year will be another milestone for Sabah as our state revenue is projected to surpass RM6 billion. “But the job is far from finished. There are still many things that need to be done for the good of Sabah and it. The only thing we need now is your support, your vote so that the SMJ Development Plan 1.0 (2021-2025) can be fully implemented,” said Mandela.