Concern over disabled from peninsula coming to Sabah's interior to beg
Uhim Wong
KENINGAU: Sabah parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has expressed concern over disabled people from the peninsula coming to Sabah to beg.
Council of Elders' deputy chairman, Robert Linggi, questioned the motive of these disabled in wanting to come all the way from the peninsula to Sabah's interior just to beg.
He was commenting on two disabled people from Johor Baru singing songs and begging for sympathy from th public.
Ho Chen, 22, who met an accident several years ago that caused his legs to be amputated and his mute and blind friend, Lee, 26, said they came to Keningau on their own expenses.
"I just don't understand why they have to come all the way from West Malaysia to Sabah to beg when Sabah is already the poorest State," said Linggi.
He suspected that irresponsible people were making use of these West Malaysian disabled for their own ends.I recognized the two in the picture, I saw them maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago in Beaufort. Ho Chen was sitting on a trolley while Lee pushed him. They were wearing bright red T-Shirts and caps. I thought they were one of the local disabled students. I thought the local school for the disabled was having a fundraising and thought nothing more of it, I was just driving by.
When I read that they came all the way from Johor Baru to beg in Sabah, my thoughts were exactly as what Linggi remarked, "I just don't understand why they have to come all the way from West Malaysia to Sabah to beg when Sabah is already the poorest State!".
I find the situation rather amusing. They obviously did not do their homework. Sabah is the last place you want to be begging for money and not especially if you have to use your own expenses to travel from Johor.
Then I was concern that they may be used by syndicate, I wonder whether there are many more of them in Sabah now. If there are many more disabled West Malaysians who flew in especially to beg, than something fishy is going on. However, if it's only Ho Chen and Lee, then I got a not so menacing theory on why they are here;Sightseeing! :), yes sightseeing. They probably just want to see(at least for Ho Chen) how Sabah is and decided to come over. Begging their way to cover their expenses.
