Kota Kinabalu: Gerakan President Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai claims the political sentiment in Sabah has shifted in recent months, moving away from “Sabah for Sabahans” towards a wave of frustration to change the state government.
Speaking at the Sabah Delegates Conference here Monday, Lau said that the party was preparing the possibility of snap polls, with the State Assembly expected to be dissolved after Malaysia Day.
“This state election will be an important indicator for the national election,” he said.
Lau said Perikatan Nasional (PN) was already carrying out seat allocation discussions and internal surveys and the feedback from Sabahans had been encouraging.
“From our visits, interviews and meetings, we can conclude that the rakyat are generally not happy with GRS at the state level and Pakatan Harapan at the federal level, especially under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Many have raised the SST issue, even calling it ‘suka-suka tax’ now,” he said.
He said unhappiness among Sabahans was also reflected in the recent Justice for Zara rally, which he said was driven by NGOs and the public rather than political parties.
“This is not a normal rally, it shows real anger from the rakyat. Together with other issues, the controversial mining licence, viral videos, and unresolved matters related to MA63, it is clear that the people are very unhappy,” he said, adding PN stood a strong chance in the coming PRN Sabah.
Lau said the party had already identified a number of constituencies to contest. Gerakan had been rejected in its native Penang but maintained a presence in Sabah since the mid-1980s“Based on the unhappiness of the rakyat, we have narrowed down several seats. It’s not finalised, but we will contest where we are allocated.’“Where we are not, we will help PN candidates. We will play our role fully as part of the coalition,” he said.
Speaking at the Sabah Delegates Conference here Monday, Lau said that the party was preparing the possibility of snap polls, with the State Assembly expected to be dissolved after Malaysia Day.
“This state election will be an important indicator for the national election,” he said.
Lau said Perikatan Nasional (PN) was already carrying out seat allocation discussions and internal surveys and the feedback from Sabahans had been encouraging.
“From our visits, interviews and meetings, we can conclude that the rakyat are generally not happy with GRS at the state level and Pakatan Harapan at the federal level, especially under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Many have raised the SST issue, even calling it ‘suka-suka tax’ now,” he said.
He said unhappiness among Sabahans was also reflected in the recent Justice for Zara rally, which he said was driven by NGOs and the public rather than political parties.
“This is not a normal rally, it shows real anger from the rakyat. Together with other issues, the controversial mining licence, viral videos, and unresolved matters related to MA63, it is clear that the people are very unhappy,” he said, adding PN stood a strong chance in the coming PRN Sabah.
Lau said the party had already identified a number of constituencies to contest. Gerakan had been rejected in its native Penang but maintained a presence in Sabah since the mid-1980s“Based on the unhappiness of the rakyat, we have narrowed down several seats. It’s not finalised, but we will contest where we are allocated.’“Where we are not, we will help PN candidates. We will play our role fully as part of the coalition,” he said.
