PAS Langkawi - UPU Ulu Melaka

Sabah people must fully embrace new Internet technology in the “Save Sabah, Save Malaysia” battle

Sabah people must fully embrace new Internet technology of blogs, facebook and twitter in the “Save Sabah, Save Malaysia” battle to restore justice, freedom and prosperity for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region

This is my first visit to Tuaran and it is historic in more senses than one.

Firstly, the coming together of Bajaus, Dusuns and Chinese in Tuaran tonight illustrates the living 1Malaysia in Sabah and not just at the sloganeering level of 1Malaysia since Datuk Seri Najib Razak became the sixth Prime Minister in April last year.

When I visited Kota Belud earlier today, I was told that Sabah – like the Bajau, Dusun, Iranun and Chinese in Kota Belud – had been practising 1Malaysia for decades, with the various ethnic groups in Sabah long having a very easy, friendly and cosy relationships with each other, and their response to Najib’s 1Malaysia is whether the Prime Minister had been sleeping all these decades.

Secondly, this DAP Chinese New Year Open House going on now in Tuaran is being followed not in other parts of Sabah and Malaysia but throughout the world.
This has been made possible by the new Internet technology of blogs, facebook and twitter enabling people not only in Sabah and Malaysia but worldwide to share events, ideas and aspirations on-time and instantaneously, regardless of time and geography.

For instance, when the other leaders like the three DAP MPs, Hiew King Cheu (Kota Kinabalu), Teo Nie Ching (Serdang) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut), the DAP’s sole State Assemblyman Jimmy Wong Sze Phing (Sri Tanjong) and Sabah DAP officials like Edward Muji (Vice Chairman) and Jeffrey Kumin (Organising Secretary) were speaking, I had sent out four tweets about Tuaran which is accessible worldwide instantaneously.

My four tweets on Tuaran a short while ago are:

• In Tuaran attend DAP CNY OH Sabah tale of horrors continue Tuaran has most unique hospital not just Msia but world – without a single bed!

• 150k ppl Tuaran have 2go2KK 4hospitalisation Big shame! 4nearly 30 yrs string of promises 2build ward w beds never met #Save Sabah/Malaysia!

• 2nd Tuaran horror Dy educ minister Fuad promised last yr work on new secondary school in Pekan Nabalu near Tuaran wld start b4 Xmas Not kept

• Horror3 – 1994 Umno/BN promised 2build bridge over Sg Damit Tuaran Promises repeated in 4 gen elections Never kept #Save Sabah/Malaysia!

I had said in my first tweet on Tuaran about “Sabah tale of horrors” because I had during my visit to Kota Belud earlier today sent out seven tweets about the deplorable infrastructure and socio-economic problem in the area, viz:

• Travelled worst n most disgraceful 8km road 4beautiful SMK Tambulion Kota Belud like mirage in desert since school opened June 2006
  Saturday, 27 February, 2010 15:49

• Some 800 students 54 teachers suffered daily arriving like orang putih covered in dust Muhyiddin shd visit school urgently shame 2MP KBelud
  Saturday, 27 February, 2010 15:56

• MPs utterly shocked at atrocious road have 2dy ministers visited school n road? We will shame BN govt in parliament Pandikar shld back us
  Saturday, 27 February, 2010 16:08

• But this not only outrage KotaBelud visited Camp Paradise military complex 2house 1800 personnel impressive highrise qtrs but totally empty
  Saturday, 27 February, 2010 16:22

• CampParadise is now Ghostland Paradise 35 personnel in complex for 1800 what gross waste public funds Don’t build any more new army complex
  Saturday, 27 February, 2010 16:38

• Visited Jelapang Padi KB last month 5300 acres of padi land 500 houses flooded under six ft water caused by bad irrigation drainage
  Saturday, 27 February, 2010 16:58

• Umno MP not going 2find it easy 2defend KotaBelud at such atrocious service record n constituency problems KB ppl complain MP mostly in KL
  Saturday, 27 February, 2010 17:04

The people of Sabah must fully embrace new Internet technology of blogs, facebook and twitter in the “Save Sabah, Save Malaysia” battle to restore justice, freedom and prosperity for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region.

As I had tweeted on Feb. 23, there has been an exponential growth of twitter with 50 million tweets created per day in the world from 5,000 tweets per day in 2007, 300,000 tweets per day in 2008, 2.5 million tweets per day in early 2009 and 35 million tweets per day at the end of 2009.

Our visits to Kota Belud and Tuaran has confirmed the shocking neglect, discrimination and marginalization of the ordinary Sabahans regardless of race, religion or region by a handful of political opportunists who have waxed rich from the wealth of the state of Sabah while the people of Sabah had been reduced to the poorest in Malaysia.

[Speech at the DAP Tuaran Chinese New Year Open House in Tuaran, Sabah on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 9 pm]