Federal Secretary Office should be dismantle.

Sabah State Reform Party (Star) on Wednesday said the Federal and State governments should abolish the Federal Secretary Office and dismantle the parallel government machinery in Sabah.

Its Chairman, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan also said that both governments should put words into action on their recognition of Sabah's autonomy.

Commenting on the call to channel Federal funds to the State Government, he recalled that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had announced that the 20-Points were still intact during the recent 13th General Election and that Sabah's autonomy was not an issue.

"Hence, we (now) call upon Umno and the Federal and State governments to implement the Prime Minister's 'Promises Fulfilled' and start treating Sabah (and Sarawak) as equal partners in Malaysia," he said.

The Federal Secretary Office (FSO) that was re-established in Sabah since 1990 is the equivalent of a parallel government in Sabah, he said.

"It not only humiliates the State Government and treats Sabah as their stepchild but also controls the purse strings and projects for Umno's political power game," he said.

He said the basis to maintain the FSO is no longer valid and there should be a review of the roles and presence of Federal departments and agencies in Sabah.

Many of them, he said, are merely duplicating the roles of the Sabah government and Sabah departments and agencies so much so that they are killing the local counterparts and depriving Sabahans of job opportunities as they are usually staffed with senior and middle level personnel from the peninsula.

"Hence, there is no necessity for Risda, Felda, Felcra, LKIM, Bernas, Mardi, Agriculture Department, MTIB, LGM and others to be in Sabah when their roles can be handled more effectively by SLDB, Sabah Marine, Sabah Padi Board, Sabah Agriculture, Forestry Department with its Sabah Forestry Institute which is world renowned, LIGS and others," he said.

Dr Jeffrey said Najib has taken the step, more by forced circumstances than by choice to maintain his Umno/BN Federal Government, to appoint 11 Ministers and 10 deputies from Sabah and Sarawak.

The next step, he said, is to have at least half the 34 Ministers and 27 deputies from Sabah and Sarawak, which can be done at the next Cabinet reshuffle that the Prime Minister has pledged carry out after Umno elections later this year to accommodate more Ministers from Sarawak.

Daily Express.