Equal treatment for Sabah, S’wak Bumis

There’s air of uneasiness among the young entrepreneurs: Chamber chief

Bumiputera businessmen in Sabah and Sarawak should be accorded equal treatment enjoyed by their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia.

In making the call here Saturday night, Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Frederick Edwin Lojingki said the Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the two states wanted fairness and a ‘level playing field’ when it came to the distribution of the country’s wealth.

“No more ‘handicap’ for us.

“We don’t seek much. All we ask is a level playing field and what the federal government has accorded to the Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the peninsular in terms of opportunities,” he said.
Lojingki was speaking during the ‘2008 DCCI (Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry)-KCCI Joint Gawai-Kaamatan celebration at Imperial Hotel here.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok; Energy, Water and Communications Deputy Minister Datuk Joseph Salang, DCCI president and deputy president Tan Sri Leo Moggie and Dato Sri Celestine Ujang respectively were among those present during the function.

Lojingki said immediate steps were needed to rectify whatever shortcomings there were, adding that there was presently a strong undercurrent of uneasiness among the younger generation of East Malaysians on how the past and the current wealth of the country were being utilised and unevenly distributed.

He also said they would pursue vigorously to the federal government the many requests they made, such as the specific allocation of RM800 million for the year 2008.

These allocations were meant for the Bumiputeras in the two states to alleviate their economic shortcomings.

On another issue, Lojingki said they viewed seriously the problems affecting the local companies in the two states who were not given sufficient opportunities to participate in projects implemented by the federal government in the peninsular.

He felt it was only too unfair for them when most of the local major jobs were given to the companies in the Peninsular Malaysia.

DCCI advisor Datuk Amar Leonard Linggi Jugah, KCCI organising chairman Datuk Ajit Galun and DCCI organising chairman Telajan Luyoh were among those present.