Sibuti MP Lukanisman Awang Sauni described Rafizi’s Malaysia Day message to the people of Borneo as “baffling” and “disappointing”.

“I view Rafizi’s statement as being political and does not at all reflect the spirit of equal partnership in Malaysia where Sarawak and Sabah are left to fend for themselves,” he said in a statement.

He said the state government for Sabah and Sarawak and the federal government must work together to transform the two Bornean states, especially since resources and taxes collected from these two states are shared with the federal government.

He claimed that Rafizi’s message can be interpreted as the peninsula only wanting to reap the financial benefits from the East Malaysian states without doing its part in their development.

Lukanisman, who is Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy youth chief, also questioned why Rafizi was suddenly interested in the well-being of the people in the two states.

“Perhaps it is to win brownie points among the supporters and the people in Sarawak and Sabah with the 15th general election (GE15) around the corner. We can only speculate,” he said.

On Malaysia Day, Rafizi advised the people of Sabah and Sarawak against falling into the trap of parochial politics that pit them against those in the peninsula.

He said this was especially important when it came to the distribution of the nation’s wealth.

According to Rafizi,  poverty in Sabah and Sarawak as well as the lack of development was not only about how much the federal government had allocated but also had to do with those who were in charge of the funds received by the two states.

He claimed that leaders in Sabah and Sarawak who abused their power to amass wealth would often point their finger at the peninsula for problems that plagued their own states.