Is this the positive way to resolve the implementation woes?

Yes, it's a very encouraging sign that the state government engages with the federal ministry, in this case, the Prime Minister ministry, on the various problems in the implementation of federal-funded projects in Sabah.

Rather than leaving it to take its natural cause; the state government led by Datuk Musa had taken the initiative aggressively to arrange a dialogue with the man-in-charge, the formally Second Finance Minister himself and now the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department , Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, to iron out all the woes, problems, and other related issues in Sabah, hopefully all at once, at the Le Meridien hotel here on January 16, 2010.

It's frequently known that federal fund had not been used up by year end in Sabah due to 'technical' problems, and the most heard of is the last-minute allocation of fund to Sabah that is impossible to implement in time for the account closing, or, fund allocated in the beginning of the year but was not able to use it because of 'difficulties' in getting the tender awarded.

Most of the problems lies with too much politicking involved in 'lobbying' for the project through the various politicians who have been eying the fund for their supporters.

The end results of the projects are meant for the benefits of the people, the sooner that it implemented, the better for the economy and the territory. Therefore, any attempts by these politicians to cause delay in the commencement of projects due to the 'fighting' should be condemned and if necessary, MACC should be called-in to investigate if it becomes rampant and unacceptable.

It's the duty of the government to monitor their respective political workers or leaders to refrain from hurting the interests of the people as they and their family too are from the people.

They are supposed to help the people, and not helping themselves. Their negative actions shall undermine the public confidence in the government if people's needs are not fulfilled in time.

On this part, I think federal government should strengthening their officers with high morality, discipline, and integrity through the BTN (Biro Tata Negera) training sessions while politicians must be instilled with patriotism and professionalism, if we want to see things improved.

It's fine with direct negotiated so-called 'special tender' or 'urgent case tender', and that political-link contractors are engaged to do these 'special' projects provided their tender is negotiated on the basis of competitiveness, and competency on reputable in delivery with quality. It should, however, keep the award of this type to the minimal to avoid allegation of abuse of fund and bad planning. The direct negotiated award should be used for cases which are related to say, natural disasters, and unforeseen circumstances and needs such as Queen Elizabeth Hospital case in Sabah.

The government should never award any 'special tenders or projects' to the so-called 'ali baba' companies as the action is not fair to those genuinely in the trade, and will cause long-term detrimental damages to the industry, and the economy as a whole.

It's all because of bad precedent set in the country of giving project directly without going through appropriate tendering procedure and merit that had misled most politicians of wrongly believe in the miracle of getting something out of 'nothing'.

This, together with the close monitoring and follow-up on the projects to be implemented in Sabah, the state government ought to be working extra hard making sure that acquisition of lands are not a hindrance in the project implementation process as there have been cited quite frequently that projects partially finished, or delayed, due to some disputes in the land matter.

However, Datuk Musa specifically singled out the bureaucracy in these government ministries, namely: Health, Education, and Public Works, that have been the causes of our woes in Sabah. I hope that the various Ministers should work harder with their respective Secretary Generals on removing these obstacles, and emphasising the importance of streamlining the process so that Sabah, a far away poor state, could progress well and subsequently remain a sustainable fixed deposit for BN in times to come.