Sabah officers to take over local civil posts step by step

The Star

KOTA KINABALU: No time frame has been set for the localisation, more popularly known as Borneonisation programme, of the federal service in Sabah, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said.

He said capable local officers were being identified to take over federal departments and agencies in the state when the time was right.

However, Dompok stressed that they would not rush the Borneonisation programme through as they did not want to cause any type of disruption to the services of the relevant departments and agencies.

"Our keenness to have locals head federal departments and agencies does not mean that the current federal officers from peninsular Malaysia were not capable but we want our capable local officers to be given the opportunity, he added.

Dompok said this to reporters after accompanying state assistant minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Edward Khoo, who is Sabah MCA chairman, in a walkabout at Donggongon town and Kepayan housing area to distribute Chinese New Year cards.

In May last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had assured Sabah Barisan Nasional leaders that steps would be taken to allow local officers in the federal service to take up positions within the federal service in the state.

Since then several Sabahans have been appointed to key posts, including for the position of vice chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Federal Financial Officer and state National Registration Department.

Dompok, who is minister overseeing federal departments in Sabah and Sarawak, said that they were looking at federal agencies like Immigration Department to be headed by capable local officers in due time.

On the promised additional RM1bil federal funding for rural projects, Dompok said that the state government was finalising the various projects and would be submitting it to the federal government for the allocations announced in May.

He said the additional allocations for Sabah and Sarawak MPs would also disbursed by the federal government later this year.