I have been requested to say a few words of greetings before the dawn of the Next Century and the beginning of the New Millennium. It is indeed my pleasure now to do so And I do so, first, by thanking the Almighty God for His many blessings, protection, and guidance given to each and everyone of us throughout the last millennium, and, second , by expressing my humble and sincere thanks to all PBS’ supporters, sympathisers, and especially to those who voted for our candidates in the honest intention of doing the right thing for Sabah.
 

As we leave this century and step into the threshold of The New Millennium, most of us, if not all, do so with much expectation as well as lots of aspirations. The scientists would like to know more about the universe and be able to build more exploration stations in space. We pray that peace and understanding will prevail throughout the whole world, especially in our own country.
 

In our idealistic expectations, however, we must look at the reality of things and events happening around us. The choice is ours to make. To make the world around us better or ruin its future. It is up to us human beings of this planet, and those living in our own country, and the State of Sabah. The choice, especially, lies with the younger generation.
 

A glimmer of hope is nonetheless there. With our own capacity knowledge and understanding, and with the help of high technology, IT and internet the younger generation has come to grasp the meaning of events and occurrence in the proper perspective, and, hopefully, will make the right decisions when it comes to that in the New Millennium.
 

The youth and the future generation is where I want to put my faith in when we look to the New Millennium. The present generation may not yet truly grasp the meaning of protection for the future of the younger generation and the State of Sabah itself. It is, therefore, incumbent upon those of us who have reached the stage of realisation to educate the younger and future generation about their present environment in all aspects of life and society so that the full impact of all the various overt and covert implications will dawn on them to the full discovery and enlightenment.
 

Let us work together on this noble duty and responsibility in bringing about the necessary full awareness within the young of our society. This trust must not be abandoned nor neglected. The younger generation and their future have been the prime target of our unending struggle for the protection of their future, their rights and that of their own State of Sabah from the moment of realisation and inception of our party PBS.
 

The concept of democracy may be interpreted differently by different people or leaders to suit their own objectives and plan. But one thing that has to be taken into account is the involvement and inclusion of the people and their rights and role as citizens of their country. Their rights as true citizens of Malaysia to vote and their other entitlements arising out of being genuine citizens of Malaysia must be properly and truly protected and defended to the full. Any erosion of the Malaysian citizens’ rights must be considered as subversive activity and it is the duty and responsibility of the government of the day and the country’s leaders to prevent such erosion and subversive activity. Otherwise, democracy will remain a word without the soul of the people in it.
 

And what is the meaning of justice if it is not given its proper meaning and spirit? The young and future generation will have to reflect very seriously about the word justice. For there are irresponsible and uncaring people and leaders in society who treat the word justice just as they do with the word democracy! They do not find it difficult to twist and render those two words muddled in a mist of uncertainty just so that it suits their whims and fancies.
 

There are those who would want us to forget that the State of Sabah has its rights which serve not only to designate its areas of responsbilities vis a vis the Federal Government but its rights which are exclusive to it by virtue of the IGC Report on the formation of Malaysia, The 20 Points, The Malaysia Agreement itself, The Federal Constitution, The State Constitution and all other relevant documents which form part of the agreement leading to the formalisation of the Federation of Malaysia.

The young citizens of Malaysia in Sabah, and for that matter, all who are responsible and caring citizens, should read up on all the relevant laws, agreement, and all relevant documents which serve to protect their rights, and that of their State so that they will not be shortchanged into thinking that none of their rights are being disturbed, disrupted, destroyed and eroded.
 

I am of the opinion that the citizens of this country, Malaysia, and especially those living in East Malaysia of Sabah, are just awakening to the meaning of what being a citizen of a country is all about. Being a citizen means that person has legal and constitutional rights which a foreigner and a non-citizen of that country does not have. A non-citizen cannot vote in an election in Malaysia, and, therefore, cannot be registered as a voter. But this has happened in Sabah! This kind of illegal registration must not be allowed to continue. This must be stopped. Such illegal registration is an act of sabotage on citizens’ rights. We must all help to overcome this form of erosion of the citizens’ rights. I call upon the Election Commission and its machinery to be more responsible and ensure that such slip-ups do not occur again. In fact, the Electoral Roll needs cleaning up of "phantom voters", and "fake voters", those who hold fake ICs.