Kota Kinabalu: Nobody can deny the impressive economic success achieved by the Gabubgan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-PH State Government ever since taking over from the two-year-old Warisan-Plus administration in 2020, according to former Senator Datuk John Ambrose.
He said Warisan would be hard-pressed to prove that it brought meaningful change to the lives of ordinary Sabahans but, instead, offer the cut-and dried excuse that they could not do much as they had only two years.
“What did they actually do for the average Sabahan? There were no impactful socio-economic programmes. No real change in daily lives.
“The people didn’t feel any progress,” he said.
John who is also Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Supreme Council Member, said although Warisan recorded some encouraging macroeconomic figures in its early days, this momentum did not last.
“Economic growth slowed from 8.1 per cent in 2017 (under Tun Musa Aman-led Barisan Nasional) to just 0.5 per cent in 2019. In 2020, it plummeted to -9.5 per cent as Covid-19 hit, exposing the lack of economic resilience under Warisan’s leadership,” he said.
Worse still was the rapid depletion of Sabah’s financial reserves under Warisan.
“When they took over, Warisan inherited RM3.8 billion in state reserves. By the end of their 26 months in government, it had dropped to RM2.95 billion. That’s not responsible governance,” he said.
He said this was a stark contrast of the current GRS government led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor.
“GRS restored fiscal discipline while rolling out large-scale, people-first programmes under the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) roadmap.
“Hajiji quietly rebuilt the financial foundations of this state. GRS-PH took that same RM2.95 billion in reserves and, through careful management increased it to RM8.6 billion in just four years! That’s real economic transformation for the first time in Sabah,” he said.
Under GRS, John said, Sabah’s revenue increased steadily from RM5.5 billion in 2021, RM6.96 billion in 2022 and a projected RM7 billion in 2024 — all without placing additional burdens on the rakyat.
“But the biggest change is how this wealth was returned to the people. GRS is not just saving money, they’re using it to uplift lives.
“From housing to education, youth empowerment to social protection, there’s a clear strategy that touches every corner of Sabah.”Among the initiatives under GRS have been:Rumah SMJ for the poor: 1,500 homes distributed between 2022 and 2024, with another 3,000 set for 2025; Bantuan Syukur: Monthly financial aid of RM300 for 100,000 Sabahans; Sabah People’s Insurance Scheme: Providing RM10,000 compensation in cases of death or permanent disability due to accidents; Youth-focused entrepreneurship support through Bantuan Syabas and Outreach Usahawan Muda.In education, GRS outperformed any previous administration as over 13,550 students received scholarships between 2021 and 2024.
Scholarship allocation rose from RM50 million in 2020 to RM136 million in 2025; Programmes like BUDI, BAIK, BAKTI, BAGUS, BISTARI, and GRY Subfly ensured support from early childhood to university level, even offering RM600 flight subsidies to students studying in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Now that’s what you call impact. That’s what you call inclusive development,” John said.
Sabahans now have a clear point of comparison between two very different models of governance.
“Warisan gave us big numbers, but no one felt the difference. GRS gave us programmes that changed lives. That’s the difference between chasing headlines and building futures.”