Sandakan is a "Dead Town".

Sandakan is a "dead town" borne out not from the wildest imagination of Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader but from feed back and on the lips of the local during his recent visit.

There is no need for YB Au Kam Wah to accuse DAP Leaders as not able to see or pretending not to see all the development in Sandakan. On contrary, it is the two SAPP leaders in Sandakan who are out of touch with the realty on the ground and pretending not to know the true picture of Sandakan in terms availability of businesses and job opportunities for the local Chinese community.

If Elopura Assemblyman Au Kam Wah can only cited the upgrading at the Duchess of Kent Hospital, Nursing College, Sibuga By-Pass road and the Segaliud Water Treatment plant as the only noticeable development and achievement after BN more then 13 years rules in Sandakan, no wander why so many local Chinese youngster have left town.

SAPP cannot even stop the decade old Sandakan Teaching College which was in his constituent from being closed down and moved out to Tawau.

Other than the Oil Palm Industry, there are no other industrial activities of noticeable present in Sandakan and our once proud timber and fishing industry are now a sunset industry and the much boasted Integrated Timber Complex and the promised POIC (Palm Oil Industrial Complex), both at Seguntor never materialized.

The much promoted Sandakan as a "Natural City" for tourist is now but fully forgotten theme after having spent million of rate payers' money in advertisement, street fare, concerts, dancing and garden parties, street lighting and lighting up the night sky with fireworks display.

I think most of us have seen the numerous documentary films done by foreigners in AstroTV about orang utan in Sepilok, the Kinabatangan eco-system, the proboscis monkey, the Borneo pigmy elephant, the turtle island, Sandakan Dead March and some diving spots around Sandakan, and that's their works which helps attract foreign tourist to Sandakan of which I must thanks them. For tourism, Au Kam Wah, he likes to take all the credits for some thing he never done anything about. May I ask him, what has he done to attract tourist to Sandakan?

However, in the context of the Chinese community in Sandakan almost every family have either one or two of their sibling now working in other towns and in West Malaysia or Singapore. Why is this happening? Perhap YB Au Kam Wah should ask himself why our local Chinese youths are not staying in Sandakan. The scenario is very bleak here as there are no long term businesses or job opportunities for them either in the government or private sector. Can Kam Wah come up with any solution from preventing our Chinese youth from leaving or attracting them to move back?

Since SAPP boasted to have a DCM from Sandakan, he should come unannounced to see for himself the nauseating conditions of those existing Bandars along Leila Road. This "tidak apa" attitude of SMC (Sandakan Municipal Council) and failed miserably to upkeep public utilities in tip top condition has caused many heart breaks for investors, seeing their life long shoplots and housing investment facing physical deterioration and poor property valuation.