Dear YAB Prime Minister,

It has come as a very disappointing news to many people in Sabah (most of whom voted to keep your BN coalition in power in the 2008 elections) when you asked Sabahans to 'sacrifice' by accepting the dirty, environmentally-unfriendly coal-fired power plant .

You yourself said in Kuala Lumpur only two weeks ago to TNB that you did not like the current energy policy and even went so far as to say that ‘It’s not right.’ With regards to coal, you have rightly said that ‘coal is what we call dirty technology, it’s not environmentally friendly,’

Yet, only about a week later, you have come to ask the people of Sabah to ‘sacrifice’, to accept dirty coal! We are deeply puzzled by your inconsistent, self-contradictory stand. We hope that your speech to TNB is not (as some have sinisterly argued) just a public relations gimmick to push for ‘renewable’ nuclear technology.

We still would like to believe that your administration is committed towards reducing the use of coal in the country’s electricity generation – starting with Sabah.

We wish to reiterate that those who oppose the use of coal in Sabah are not opposed to the building of more power plants, as you have been clearly misinformed when you said ‘But, if not we won’t have any power.

All we want is the use of clean, environmentally-friendly and renewable energy sources which do not pose a threat to public health, such as natural gas from our own Kimanis or even hydro-power from Bakun and elsewhere in Sabah itself.

When you said, ‘First, it was to be built in Lahad Datu but the people there objected and then moved to Sandakan but the people there also objected so lastly in my capacity as the minister of Felda, I decided to build it in a Felda area.

That’s okay and surely it proves that you know fully well about the fierce objections of Sabahans to the proposed coal-fired power plant. So, why does your administration still push it down our throats?

If the federal government is genuinely ‘committed’ to solving Sabah’s electricity shortage, then the best thing would be to tap the energy sources which are available in Sabah itself such as the natural gas which is being exported by your federal government to Sarawak, and the huge hydro- power potential in Sabah, such as the Liwagu river.

Alternatively, if the federal Government is so genuinely ‘committed’, then at the very least, your administration should procure the supply of hydro-power from Bakun, Sarawak – at least in exchange for the natural gas we are exporting to them – instead of trying to sell the Bakun hydro- power to West Malaysia, Brunei and even Indonesia.

You have rightly said that Sabah is Barisan Nasional’s ‘fixed deposit’ state which the BN coalition could rely on for support. We have returned your coalition to power in Sabah – in virtually all Parliamentary and state seats, while West Malaysians have begun to abandon your coalition.

We did this because we trusted that BN would reward and repay our loyalty with genuine efforts to solve our problems. You have said that ‘Sabah continues to get the federal government's attention because it can be seen that its support for the BN is getting stronger by the day.’

We will only believe this is true by your actions, not just your words. And yet, to our great disappointment, you have asked us to ‘sacrifice’ – unnecessarily.

Why do we have to ‘sacrifice’ if we have alternatives, such as Kimanis gas which is being exported by the federal government to Sarawak, and Bakun’s hydro-power from Sarawak which is being exported to Brunei, Indonesia and West Malaysia via undersea cables? And why do we have to import ‘dirty, environmentally-unfriendly’ coal from Indonesia instead?

Is this 'sacrifice' fair to Sabahans? Why doesn't the federal government ask Sarawak to 'sacrifice' by giving back our Kimanis gas, or ask the West Malaysians, Bruneians and Indonesians to 'sacrifice' by giving up Bakun hydro-power for Sabah?

Or ask TNB to 'sacrifice' some of their profits by using safer and cleaner energy sources, so that Sabah can use them for electricity? Is this the way BN rewards its 'fixed-deposit', 'blue-chip' state like Sabah?

Dear PM, the time has come for the BN/federal government to ask not what Sabah can do for the BN/federal government, but what the BN/federal government can do for Sabah. We trust that you will do the right thing for Sabah.