Kota Kinabalu: The women’s wings of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah heaped scorn on calls by their Sabah Umno counterparts for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to take responsibility for the alleged mining scandal involving certain Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) elected representatives and step down.
PGRS Wanita Chief Datuk Redonah Bahanda said the call is malicious and politically motivated attack.
Advertisement“The statements by Sabah Umno’s Wanita, Youth and Puteri chiefs are deliberate attempts to undermine the State Government’s credibility and destabilise the current leadership,” she said.
“The viral videos implicating Gagasan Rakyat leaders are unverified and should not be considered conclusive until proper investigation by relevant authorities.
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She said the resignation demands were meant to divert attention from ongoing court cases involving Sabah Umno’s own leadership who want to recreate a Kinabalu Move 2.0 or trigger an early State election.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“Be patient, there is no need to be hasty to take over the State Government. The State Election will happen in due course. Our focus must remain on helping the people of Sabah, not creating political chaos,” she said.
She said since taking office, Hajiji has made continuous efforts in developing Sabah and bringing strategic plans to fruition.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“The Chief Minister has assured that under his administration, principles of justice, transparency and integrity will be adhered to.
“This was proven when implicated leaders voluntarily went to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office to provide their statements, showing their cooperation and transparency.
“These leaders never ran from investigation,” she said.
Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS) Wanita Chief Norazian Dumit said the actions of the two Sabah Umno wings could undermine efforts to make the state more self-reliant, similar to Sarawak.
She said it was unfair for Sabah Umno Women and Puteri to demand the resignation of the Chief Minister when there has been no prosecution or court decision regarding allegations of corruption involving Sabah assemblymen.
“Perhaps they have forgotten that they too faced similar issues when several Umno leaders were implicated in corruption scandals, leading to calls for resignations.
“The same situation is happening in Sabah. Should the Chief Minister resign based on an edited video, clearly showing the recorder’s intent, which has yet to be verified or investigated by the relevant authorities?”
She said justice and thorough investigations must prevail rather than judgment and punishment based on edited videos.
Norazian also viewed the proposed establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to comprehensively address the management of Sabah’s natural resources as a potential avenue for external interference in the state’s resource management.
She said this contradicted the aspirations and desires of Sabahans, which are rooted in the concepts of “Sabah for Sabahans” and “our home, our responsibility.”
She called on all component parties within Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and the people to unite and resist attempts to destabilise the State’s political stability.
“We must come together to ensure that Sabah remains resilient against external forces seeking to keep the state lagging and easily exploited,” she said.