PRESS
RELEASE
IN
KOTA MARUDU TODAY, 23 APRIL 1998
PBS
ON DROUGHT SITUATION: STOP ENGAGING IN "DENIAL SYNDROME
KOTA
MARUDU, Thurs. – Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) today urged the Barisan
Nasional government to disclose the true situation of the food shortage
in Sabah and to stop saying that the situation was not serious.
Its
deputy president Dr Maximus Ongkili claimed the government was not
telling the truth regarding food shortage problem and was doing
a great disservice to the affected people by describing the situation
as "normal and fine".
He
was commenting on the statement by Social Services Minister Datuk
Raymond Tan Shu Kiah yesterday who described the situation in Kota
Marudu as "back to normal" and villagers seemingly "fine".
"The
truth of the matter is that farmers in at least 30 villages in Kota
Marudu alone are facing acute shortage of food because their present
rice and tapioca crops have been destroyed by the severe drought.
"In
the hill areas tapioca and sweet potatoes planted last year have
began to wither and are too bitter to eat. Many villagers are eating
jungle produce that are not normally eaten daily to substitute their
normal food intake of rice and tapioca, including jantung pisang,
polod and tondut," he stressed.
The
Bandau Member of Parliament said the fact that Yayasan Salam, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and church groups have responded positively
with rice and other donations to help the affected people showed
that the general public were aware of the real situation.
"Our
view is that the worst is yet to come because at the moment some
farmers may still have a small reserve of rice and tapioca. But
by next month there will be real scarcity of food including edible
jungle produce which have also dried up. Even if the rains were
to come tomorrow, it will be at least 4 – 6 months before farmers
can have their first harvest", he said.
Dr
Ongkili criticised the State government for engaging in controversy
over the meaning of "starvation", adding that the government need
not wait for people to die of starvation before fully mobilising
its resources to assist the drought victims on a short-term and
long-term basis.
"The
Little Oxford dictionary defines the verb ‘starve’ as "die
or suffer acutely from lack of food" (p.494).
"We
all agree that thankfully no one has died so far as a result of
lack of food. But it is a fact that people are not getting their
normal intake of food and are eating jungle produce as substitutes
which are not normally eaten regularly. There is suffering arising
from shortage of food. Malnutrition is visible in many villages.
Many villagers have testified of not eating rice for some four to
six months. Therefore, by the Oxford dictionary’s definition there
is a degree of starvation.
"The
government must not deny this fact otherwise you are doing a great
disservice to the affected communities. Surely the government does
not want a famine to occur before it acknowledges the seriousness
of the situation," he argued.
Dr
Ongkili said last Saturday (April 18) he witnessed officials of
a public company together with journalists from Sin Chew Jit Poh
who distributed rice to drought victims in Kampung Teringai Darat,
Matunggong.
"We
were informed by affected families of the long house in that village
that several adults and children had just recovered from two days
of drowsiness and vomitting after eating "tondut"
on Thursday (April 16). We took pictures and samples of the "tondut"
to be submitted to the Medical Department for analysis so that drought
victims can be advised whether the stuff is really edible or not,"
he claimed.
According
to Dr Ongkili, "tondut" is a type of wild potato whose
leaves and tuber are used to poison fish ("toba") in rivers and
eaten by natives during the Japanese war when there was scarcity
of food.
"This
is supposed to be a nation heading towards developed status in year
2020 and enjoying the era of IT and multimedia world. Why are we
allowing people to eat poisonous jungle product such as "tondut"
in order to keep alive? Isn’t this a clear sign that there is suffering
due to food shortage and therefore proof that a degree of starvation
as defined by the Oxford dictionary indeed exists?", he asked.
"Surely
we do not want to deny this fact because to do so is to engage in
denial syndrome which surely the government does not want to be
preoccupied for too long,", he said.
He
challenged the State government to invite foreign journalists to
see the situation for themselves as well as independent medical
experts to assess the food shortage situation, adding that "this
will clear the allegation of incorrect reporting once for all,"
he said.
Dr
Ongkili also explained that PBS has collected about 10,000 kg of
rice donated by party members and supporters which will be distributed
to drought victims in areas not covered thus far by the government,
Yayasan Salam and NGOs.
Those
who wish to contribute food items through the party may send through
the PBS Headquarters in Donggongon, which may be contacted through
telelephone 088-714892.
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