Resource Rich But Still Poor After 45 Years Independence!

[jubilee1919]

Is it any wonder that poverty is still prevalent in the resource rich states of Sabah and Sarawak after 45 years in Malaysia?

CT Ali, Free Malaysia Today

History will tell us that alliances between states are entered into to serve strategic, economic and the national interest of their people.

More often than not these alliances are driven by political leaders who dream of greater glory and national advancement that the sum of such an alliance may bring.

History will also tell us that no nation can survive an alliance with another for too long when the interest of its people are exploited and taken advantage of by the another.

Such is the situation that the people of Sabah and Sarawak now feel they are in – the same Sabah and Sarawak that joined with Singapore and Malaya to form that new nation of Malaysia.

Joined not as the 12th and 13th states under Malaya but as equal partners having equal status and rights within the Federation of Malaysia.

Singapore has since bid adieu to Malaysia because it serves the political purpose of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government of Malaysia for that to happen. Political Armageddon awaits Umno if Singapore was allowed meaningful participation into the federal politics of Malaysia.

With Singapore conveniently out of the way, this BN government of Malaysia did partake in and willingly encourage the following in Sabah and Sarawak:

First it proceeded forthwith to export to East Malaysia the politics of race and religion that had enabled Umno to divide and rule the population of Malaya to their political advantage for over 50 years.

Second this same BN government set out to colonise East Malaysia and took absolute control over their oil, gas and land resources for the benefit of Malaya – or more to the point for the advantage of the political elites in Umno in particular and BN in general.

Third they allowed with impunity the contemptible practice already embedded in the culture of Sabah and Sarawak politicians to grow indiscriminately – and that is the willingness of these politicians to indulge in party hopping and horse trading – much aided and infused by the proliferation of money politics, rampant state level corruption abuse of power and administrative management already prevalent in Malaya under the Umno-led government of Barisan Nasional.​

Is it any wonder that poverty is still prevalent in the resource rich states of Sabah and Sarawak after 45 years in Malaysia?

Is it any wonder that corrupt administrators, crony timber robber baron and massive and endemic corruption now colour the politics in Sabah and Sarawak?

A political landscape that is also not unfamiliar to those in Malaya. A political landscape that any state and people will have to endure where corrupt politicians are allowed to rule not for the good of the people who elected them to office but for their own benefit.

Everyone has an agenda

For me the problems besetting our brothers and sisters in Sabah and Sarawak are no different from that faced by us in Malaya.

http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/53543-is-it-any-wonder-that-poverty-is-still-prevalent-in-the-resource-rich-states-of-sabah-and-sarawak-after-45-years-in-malaysia

Both States have been robbed and pillaged by UMNO for 45 years and are still asking for ore of the same. Why are these people so stupid?

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

It's a pity that these east malaysian states did not decide to become independent like brunei. I bet if they were like brunei they would be rich. I also wonder if northern malaysian states like kelantan would have been better off under thailand.

 

[mulvi74]

I have been to Sabah and it is beautiful and it is one of the places in Malaysia we are considering moving to. Is secession something tha Sabah and/or sarawak would consider. Even in oz, wa would like to secede and there are talks that Catalonia would like to secede from Spain but what are the chances ?

 

[chupacabra]

Mudlasia is a baby in terms of independence. Still got gas to go on for generations to come. Which book does it says that a cuntry must develop within a single generation... Peesai is develop so what..peesai is overcooked and about to fall to pieces liao. Can peesai last longer than mudlasia? I dont think so..

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

I have been to Sabah and it is beautiful and it is one of the places in Malaysia we are considering moving to. Is secession something tha Sabah and/or sarawak would consider. Even in oz, wa would like to secede and there are talks that Catalonia would like to secede from Spain but what are the chances ?

ROFL at sabah trying to secede. The mudland govt won't allow it. In fact the only region in the world that somehow has the right to secede is tibet simply because it's under china other countries like west timor or the caucasas region under russia nope not allowed to.

 

[jubilee1919]

Borneo island, located at the center of Southeast Asia

Borneo is the third largest island in the world, at the geographic center of Maritime Southeast Asia and divided among three countries: Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. The amount of natural resources Borneo possesses is so rich that if evenly distributed, its 19 million inhabitants on average would enjoy the living standard of Italy.

Unfortunately for Borneo, most of its resources went on to feed Malaya and Java, leaving little for the natives, where 23% of the population live under international poverty line. Brunei, the only independent country on the island, largely avoided such fate and is currently a high-income nation.

If Borneo was one independent entity, could it had been another Asian economic powerhouse? We would never know the answer, but even in its underdeveloped state, here are some fascinating economic stats of Borneo:

Borneo is the world's no.1 exporter of tropical hardwoods

# Borneo is the world's largest exporter of tropical hardwoods and is essential to the global construction (plywood) industry. Valuable Borneo ironwood tree ulin typically sells for around US$2,000 per cubic meter abroad. Ramin, another tropical hardwood sells for approximately US$1,000. A single teak log for example can fetch as much as US$20,000.

As a result, the island has been rapidly deforested over the decades, with illegal logging increasingly becoming a concern among the authorities.

Borneo is the world's no.2 producer of palm oil

# Borneo is the world's second largest producer of palm oil, trailing only Indonesia's Sumatra island. Palm oil exports have over the years fueled massive wealth in Malaysia and Indonesia, akin to the role of real estate in Hong Kong's wealth generation.

Nearly half of the top 10 wealthiest person in both countries now have businesses involving oil palm, among them, Robert Kuok (Wilmar International), Lee Kim Hua (Genting Plantations), Lee Shin Cheng (IOI Corp), Tiong Hiew King (Rimbunan Hijau), Eka Tjipta Widjaja (Sinar Mas), Anthony Salim (Salim Group), Martua Sitorus (Wilmar Indonesia), Sukanto Tanoto (Raja Garuda Emas Group) and Putera Sampoerna (Sampoerna Strategic)

Borneo is the world's no.4 exporter of coal

# Borneo has massive deposits of coal, 22 billion tonnes of it. A recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) states that coal is poised to replace oil as the world's top energy source possibly in the next five years, driven almost entirely by China and India. A standalone Borneo would be the fourth largest exporter - approximately 9% of the world's coal exports, only after Australia, Indonesia (minus Kalimantan) and Russia.

Coal mining in Kalimantan has catapulted Singaporean-born Bayan Resources founder Low Tuck Kwong into one of the wealthiest billionaires in Indonesia, just within a short four-year time after his company's IPO.

Borneo is the world's no.2 exporter of LNG

# Borneo is rich in oil & gas, which formed the backbone of its economy today. While incomparable to that of Middle East, the total oil reserves is still significant at 4.1 billion barrels. The real jewel though, is natural gas, which at 3.784 trillion cubic meter, made Borneo's natural gas reserves the largest in Asia, more than China's 3.1 trillion cubic meter and only slightly below the entire Australian reserves (3.825 trillion cubic meter)

With a relatively smaller population, most of Borneo's natural gas are converted to LNG for exports. Qatar is currently the world's largest LNG exporter, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia, whose main LNG export hubs are both in Borneo; Bintulu and Bontang, while Brunei the tenth largest exporter. Taking into account the combined figure, Borneo is the world's second largest exporter of LNG (53.2 MT) only after Qatar (75.5 MT)

Borneo is the world's no.4 producer of pepper

# To the west of Borneo, there is Maluku (Moluccas) Islands, known to the 16th-century Dutch and Portuguese traders as the 'Spice Islands'. Spice trade once allowed the Tidore and Ternate sultanate to grow into one of the wealthiest islands (akin to modern-day Singapore) in Southeast Asia until the Dutch conquest.

Like Maluku, Borneo is known for its spice, especially pepper, which is the world's most traded spice today. Sarawak single-handedly accounts for 98% of Malaysian pepper production, and with the rest of Borneo, the island produces a combined 10% of the world's pepper, making it the fourth largest producer after Vietnam (34%), India (19%) and Brazil (13%).

The hydropower potential in Borneo could enable its households and industries to enjoy Asia's lowest electricity costs

# Laos is scheduled to be ASEAN hydropower hub with a hydroelectric potential of about 26,500 MW. This is pale compared to Borneo's 50,000 MW - enough to power the island 15 times under current consumption patterns. If fully utilized, it could unlock ultra-cheap electricity for Borneo inhabitants and attracted heavy industries from across the globe.

The most shameful irony however, is that many of the 19 million people in energy-abundant Borneo still have no access to regular electricity supply. The sawmills of Kalimantan have to rely on their own backup generator sets for sources of power. For someone who could have enjoyed Asia's cheapest electricity, the people of Borneo suffer from regular blackouts and electricity deficits.

# Other resources in vast quantities include gold, rubber, iron ore and cocoa, but these are largely untapped and unexplored.

Note: Thanks to Mevotex of Miricommunity for this article.

 

[halsey02]

ROFL at sabah trying to secede. The mudland govt won't allow it. In fact the only region in the world that somehow has the right to secede is tibet simply because it's under china other countries like west timor or the caucasas region under russia nope not allowed to.

North Borneo & Sarawak was independent before they join the federation, have you forgotten about Rajah Brooke??

 

[tualingong]

Corruption is killing malaysia!!

 

[halsey02]

Corruption is killing malaysia!!

It is culture...

 

[jubilee1919]

Corruption is killing malaysia!!

Correction! Corruption is enriching Umno and her cronies, but killing the Bornean States.

 

[Kohliantye]

Najib's recent publicity stunt to woo in the Indians and the Christians has come a little too late.

The Pakatan Rakyat identified this weakness in UMNO and cashed it to their advantage.

UMNO's days and that of her "partners" in National Front are over.

Sooner or later the winds of change will blow the NF into oblivion.

They asked for it.

 

[jubilee1919]

Najib's recent publicity stunt to woo in the Indians and the Christians has come a little too late.

The Pakatan Rakyat identified this weakness in UMNO and cashed it to their advantage.

UMNO's days and that of her "partners" in National Front are over.

Sooner or later the winds of change will blow the NF into oblivion.

They asked for it.

Both UMNO and Pakatan Rakyat will still be bad for Sarawak and Sabah, no matter who wins. A real sorry state of affairs and not good for the peoples of both states. Their resources are being depleted at an alarming rate and most of the wealth has not been used for improving their lives. Instead, it has plundered by the elites for their personal gains.

 

[Kinana]

Sabah n Sarawak should start a campaign to secede from Malaysia n join Singapore in a union.
The day they join us, their per,capita income will double immediately

 

[zeddy]

Sabah n Sarawak should start a campaign to secede from Malaysia n join Singapore in a union.
The day they join us, their per,capita income will double immediately

That'a silly suggestion..

You want your backside to be shot by a Dayak using his blowpipe?

 

[zeddy]

Sabah and Sarawak are beautiful places with lovely sandy beaches..

But never ever swim in their rivers and remote beaches!

Man eating giant crocs lurking everywhere there..

 

[Kinana]

That'a silly suggestion..

You want your backside to be shot by a Dayak using his blowpipe?

Them dayaks ibans n kadazans will love us, not shoot at us bro

 

[jubilee1919]

Sabah n Sarawak should start a campaign to secede from Malaysia n join Singapore in a union.
The day they join us, their per,capita income will double immediately

That'a silly suggestion..

You want your backside to be shot by a Dayak using his blowpipe?

Malaysia Agreement, 20-point(Sabah) and 18-point(Sarawak) agreement

Many people are at a lost as to why Sabah and Sarawak are treated differently from the rest of the States in Peninsular Malaysia, and the reason for this was that the formation of Malaysia comes as a result of an agreement between Peninsular Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and the British Colonial government - the Malaysia Agreement.

Now, in joining Malaysia, Sabah, in order to protect certain specified sovereign rights also had what we know as the 20-point Agreement.

Sarawak had a similar 18-point agreement

Read more here...http://charleshector.blogspot.sg/2012/09/malaysia-agreement-20-pointsabah-and-18.html

It was not in the agreement that Sabah or Sarawak be a State of Malaysia. Actually, Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak agreed to form Malaysia. There is no need to secede, as all they need to do is just separate and be independent. Both Sabah and Sarawak are not the same as Johor or Kedah which are Malay States. Singapore too was formerly part of that union and we did not secede, just separated.

 

[Kinana]

Ok la, just separate n join us la. Good idea

 

[zeddy]

Them dayaks ibans n kadazans will love us, not shoot at us bro

If they know you're a PAP supporter, they'll cut off your head and hang it outside their longhouse..

 

[Kinana]

If they know you're a PAP supporter, they'll cut off your head and hang it outside their longhouse..

That will neber happen bro. Cos deep down inside they all wish they had pap instead of umno n PBS.