Junz
KOTA KINABALU: Tanjung Aru assemblyman Datuk Junz Wong has invited the leaders of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Putatan Division to have a walkabout in his constituency.
This comes after Bersatu Youth Wing’s chief, Mohd Isquzawan Israq Arsit claimed that Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) has distributed food baskets to more than 320,000 families during the pandemic.
“I want to tell PPBM Putatan to stop ‘syiok sendiri’. Come have a walkabout in Tanjung Aru. Let us walk door to door, ask the residents whether they received the so-called hundreds of thousands of food baskets.
“I want PPBM to hear the voices of the rakyat. Don’t just sit in an aircon room and pluck some figures from the sky. Don’t syok sendiri bah,” said Junz in a statement on Tuesday.
On accusations that Warisan approved the redevelopment plan of Tanjung Aru LPPB Flats, Junz said the blatant accusation is intended to mislead the public.
He also invited PPBM to have a town hall with the affected residents with his presence.
“Warisan never evicted any Sabahans in our entire 26-month administration. This is a fact.
“Residents of Tanjung Aru LPPB Flats were also never issued any eviction notices during Warisan’s entire 26-month administration. This is also a fact.
“So PPBM Putatan’s accusation is a blatant misrepresentation and attempt to mislead the public.
“In fact, PPBM can just head down to Tanjung Aru Flats and ask the residents if they were ever evicted or told to move out. The answer is no,” he said.
On LPPB’s letter to a certain developer in 2020, Junz said it was an internal decision made by the LPPB that is subject to the State Cabinet’s approval.
“It is no secret that there were suggestions to redevelop the LPPB Flats since many years ago, even during the BN era.
“This is because normally agencies and GLCs have their own proposals and ideas, and they are in the business of making money. So yes, they will make plans.
“However, whether these proposals and ideas materialise or not is subject to the Sabah State Cabinet’s approval.
“Just look at the Sawit Kinabalu case in Bagahak, Lahad Datu.
“Sawit Kinabalu’s initial plans were to evict the orang asals who were staying there for generations. It was a decision made by Sawit Kinabalu internally.
“But when this decision was brought to the State Cabinet, former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal immediately blocked the decision. In fact the Warisan Cabinet even gave the orang asals nearly 7,000 hectares of land with individual titles!
“So what rubbish is PPBM talking about?”
“Come to Tanjung Aru Flats with me and let us ask the opinions of the residents. They will testify on behalf of me that there was never an eviction notice issued by Warisan.”
Junz added if GRS is concerned over the welfare of the residents, an alternative solution should be made.
“My colleague Datuk Jaujan (Sambokong) who was the Housing Minister has told me. Yes there were proposals to redevelop the plot of land. But Warisan’s condition to the interested developers were, an alternative people’s housing must be built to relocate the affected residents.
“The developer never materialised the people’s housing, so the developer was not allowed to redevelop the plot of land. Since the developers were not allowed the redevelop the land, the residents were not asked to move out.
“There must be a replacement if the building is to be torn down, so that the affected residents have shelter. Simple!
“But what is GRS doing now? They have already issued an eviction notice without preparing a replacement unit.
“Where are these hundreds of families going to live after being evicted?”
Towards the end, Junz pleaded for compassion and empathy for the flat residents.
“These residents are not millionaires. They have lived in the flats for decades. Some even generations. This is a place they call home, with a strong bond among neighbours over the years.
“With the current Covid-19 pandemic, their lives are even tougher. Some have lost a source of income.
“Please GRS, have some compassion and empathy. Not everyone is a millionaire who lives in a bungalow.”