THE Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-Barisan Nasional (GRS-BN) Government is getting stronger after overcoming two of the biggest challenges – the health crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic and political instability at the Federal-level - to the extent it attracts many other political parties wanting to join through GRS.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor said one of the main reasons for this was because the GRS-BN Government has a hala tuju (direction) - the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) - unlike the previous government which did not have one and was only busy politicking.
“We have made Sabah Maju Jaya, the coat of arms of our State, as our direction. Because from my understanding, a hala tuju needs the support, cooperation of all Sabahans to ensure that the State progresses.
“Everyone needs to contribute to the progress of Sabah. This is my understanding when I choose the SMJ as the slogan for our hala tuju.
“Yes, there are people who do not like and question this hala tuju in social media and so on. These are negative views from someone who does not know what hala tuju means or they were supporters of the opposition.
“In the past, there was no hala tuju, every day only talking about politics. But we, the present Government, do not want that. We have a direction. We have been given a mandate by the people, so we must do something to meet the people’s expectations,” he said while speaking at the Bersatu Armada (youth wing) Dinner at Magellan Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu, on June 24.
Hajiji, who is also the GRS Chairman and Sabah Bersatu Chief, explained that the Hala Tuju SMJ contained a manifesto that had been agreed upon by the GRS and BN component parties and offered to Sabahans in the last State election (PRN).
“That is what we put all in the Hala Tuju SMJ. It’s not that we’re flaunting. That is what we have offered to the people in the last PRN.
“So that’s what we’re trying to implement. Now we have Hala Tuju SMJ 1.0, until 2025. After that, if we are given another mandate, we will have SMJ 2.0,” he said.
According to him, the hala tuju cannot be implemented in one day or one year and it takes at least 10 years to complete.
“Because of that, I hope every Armada leader at all levels can explain to the people about our hala tuju and that we have a government that has a direction, not like the previous government that had no direction.
“We also want all government machinery to help implement and make the hala tuju a success, because the success of the implementation of this hala tuju lies with the government machinery and all of us.
“And also, because of this hala tuju, within just a year we already have four to five high-impact projects implemented in Sabah.
“We have only been in power for a year and have gone through big challenges after taking over the State Government, but we are currently already implementing several high-impact projects worth billions of ringgit and offer many job opportunities,” he said.
Hajiji also said the struggle and success of Bersatu together with its partners in GRS and BN had also attracted the interest of other local political parties to participate through GRS.
GRS consists Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and most recently United Sabah National Organisation (Usno).
Meanwhile, four other local parties have also applied to join GRS, namely Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat).
“Our struggle in Bersatu and with our friends in GRS means so much. Believe me, the people expect Bersatu and also GRS to continue to get the people’s mandate and govern the State.
“The important thing is that we provide our services to the people. The important thing is that we do our best for Sabah. The important thing is that we can unite our thoughts and preserve unity among our people and political parties in Sabah.
“That is why we set up GRS, because our intention is to have political unity in Sabah.
“Now GRS has five component members and because GRS’ struggle is so clear to them, there are four more parties that have applied to join GRS.
“God willing, we will look at their applications seriously, because maybe this is what our people of various races and faiths, as well as different political beliefs, in Sabah want to see a strong political coalition to rule Sabah in the future.
“If not, why did they apply to join GRS. This also means that what we have been doing all this while since we were given the people’s mandate, has captivated the hearts of friends from other parties.
“Bersatu and GRS are not arrogant parties. We work for the people. We give the same treatment to people and other friends. We are a party that creates harmony among the people and also parties that want to join GRS,” he said.
Hajiji said Bersatu and GRS also hoped to continue working closely with BN.
“There is no need to fight, we want to fight for what. If we fight, the only one to lose will be us. We must learn from what happened before.
“Because of that, I have explained to my friends from Umno and BN, we have to have a good discussion for the sake of the State and the people in Sabah. That’s all.
“Let’s not fight for power, fight for seats. What is important is for us to ensure that harmony and unity in Sabah continues, and also for the good of the State.
“Although maybe it is happening across the sea (Peninsula), Sabah is different. Let’s not fight in Sabah, because we will lose. We will waste a lot of our time managing politics that does not bring benefits.
“Let us manage Sabah the Sabahans’ way. We can talk things over between us,” he said, adding that although there are also parties from the national-level, that is not the issue because the issue now is that we do our best according to the local political mould of Sabah.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.