Prime Minister Najib Razak has been told to look into Sabah's woes such as excessive logging issues reported in Tawau during his visit tomorrow.
"Even a local Umno leader from Tawau, Amissain Latip, in August last year urged the prime minister to intervene in the case as all complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"Don't just come here for a quick Umno solidarity event and fly back to Putrajaya without listening to the people's grouses.
"This issue of questionable logging, (for example) to clear the site for an ever-slow geothermal power generation project at Apas Kiri is one," said Sabah DAP vice chairperson Chan Foong Hin in a statement on the eve of Najib's Tawau visit.
The PM is scheduled to attend a Sabah's People Solidarity Assembly there, among others.
The project, he said, is directly under Najib's Finance Ministry as part of the economic transformation programme (ETP) and is ironically supposed to be an environment-friendly project.
"This geothermal project, also called Tawau Green Energy (TGE) project, received a RM35 million grant from the Prime Minister's Department's private-public co-operation unit, is also allegedly well behind time, whereas timber felling continues unabated.
"What is the meaning of all this?" he asked.
10MP a flop for Sabah?
Meanwhile Chan's deputy Stephen Wong wants the prime minister to come out with a report card for the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) for Sabah, which will expire this year.
The Sandakan MP asked whether the plan, which had projected that RM230 billion will be utilised as development expenditure in the budget for five years starting 2011 to upgrade basic infrastructure and necessities for Sabahans in both towns and rural areas, have been achieved.
"I would like to query the government the status of each project. Have they been accomplished by the end of this year?
"I believe that Sabahans have right to know whether these promises as well as goals have been fulfilled and achieved," he said in a separate statement today.
According to Wong, the 10MP outlined that 2,540 kilometres of paved roads are to be constructed in Sabah, with RM2.7 billion allocation to upgrade existing roads.
It also planned for 98 percent or 112,700 houses in Sabah to be supplied with clean and treated water and the target of 59,000 additional houses to be supplied with electricity.
Wong said as coordinator of DAP's Impian Sabah project, he had observed a total failure to deliver basic infrastructure to villages such as Kampung Samparita Laut, Kota Marudu and Kampung Pangi and Tenom.
"For the last 52 years after formation of Malaysia, I am so disappointed to see that the government had totally failed Sabahans in everything, including basic necessities supply.
"Therefore, looking at the goals set in 10MP, shall we believe that 98 percent of water supply and 99 percent of electricity supply were fulfilled and accomplished by the end the plan period in Sabah?
"I don't think so," he said.
"Apparently, the plan was drafted by officers who only sat in their air-conditioned offices without any idea of what is happening on the ground and in the rural areas. It is completely a lie by the government," said the MP.
Developed nation without water, power
He said DAP Sabah and Impian Sabah team has just celebrated the opening of the Jalan Impian-Amuno in Pitas, which the party sponsored as the federal government had failed to fulfill the promise made 16 years ago.
"There are six villages comprising hundreds of villagers awaiting this promise and the road to link their village to the town.
"However, although Hishammuddin Hussein as federal cabinet minister had raised this issue in the cabinet, it still remains unaccomplished until DAP and the Impian team raised funds and helped villagers to realise the long-awaited dream," he said.
Wong hopes Najib's visit before he tables the 11th Malaysia Plan in the next parliamentary sitting will benefit the second largest state in Malaysia, as there are thousands of villages there which have not enjoyed basic necessities such as roads, clean water and electricity.
He said the failure to do this and to complete implementation of all the 10MP plans for Sabah would make the country an international laughing stock, and will cause Malaysia to fail to achieve its Vision 2020 which falls into the time frame of the 11th Malaysia Plan.
"Before the government tables the next Malaysia Plan, I urge the government officers to 'turun padang' and observe what is really happening inside the rural areas, and the federal government must explain whether these objectives are achieved.
"By the end of 2020 or the 11MP period, Malaysia is said to be a progressive nation.
"It would definitely becoming a laughingstock if there are still many villages in Sabah completely without electricity and water supply," he said.