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THE topic of “Project IC” reared its ugly head again in the press this week and one can be forgiven at our leaders if you are confused that “magic wands” are now the  preferred weapon in resolving state issues. It reflects just how deluded Sabah leaders have become. It confirms their absolute disconnection from reality when they talk of “magic wands” in their bubble world of fairies and fairytales. You contrast this with the reality of a state considered the poorest in Malaysia.

It is amusing and telling when our leaders think of “magic wands” because maybe they need to get a better model since the one they use doesn't appear to work for real issues like the issue of undocumented foreigners. But the same “‘magic wand” works wonderfully well for them  when it comes to disappearing State assets, like that Sabah cattle station in the Northern Territory in Australia or pieces of prime State land around KK, SFI and SGI.

In the case of Sabah Gas Industries because Federal was told to pay off the loan, we ultimately lost potential gas revenue today

In the case of SFI, the State Assembly had to dig into its consolidated fund to bail out the GLC for millions of ringgit yearly. This continued for almost the entire duration of PBS rule. It was labelled as a “white elephant’ and a drain on the economy. However, can anyone explain how the Lion’s Group was able to break even and make SFI start making profits from the second year of its takeover?

A look at the map of deforestation prepared by the Forestry Department would show that almost the whole of Sabah lost its virgin forests between 1984 and 1994. Yet the people of Sonsogon in Kota Marudu keep voting and complain they have no road  till today.

Another newsworthy item was the topic of shortages in cooking oil on supermarket  shelves. Sabah has some of the best yields in oil palm it is incomprehensible that the supply of something as basic as cooking oil is such a challenge. Our leaders need to give up on the surreal world of “magic wands” and instead start wielding something physical like a piece of “kayu balak” to get the price gougers who deliberately restrict supply for an extra ringgit.

I am, however, optimistic of the future. The younger generation just weaned off fairy tales, need to contemplate seriously about the future of Sabah. It is demoralising for them to learn, as mentioned to me on numerous occasions, that our leaders still talk of “magic wands” in dictating their future. The reduction in the voting age will make the younger generation the biggest demographic voting group in forthcoming elections. With such an advantage, I am hoping they will rid our government of such clowns with ‘magic wands’ masquerading as Sabah leaders and check them into some virtual world somewhere in La La Land.

Kubis Kedayan

- The views expressed here are the views of the writer Kubis Kedayan and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express.

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