RANAU: Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) supreme council agreed to continue cooperating with Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the coming state election because history has shown that a state government cannot do without having a strong relationship with Federal.
“We want strong ties with the Federal Government. We want stability and we hope the people will understand that we are doing the best for them.
“To bring prosperity to them,” he said, at the ground-breaking of the Paginatan new township at the Nunuk Ragang Memorial open-air hall, Tuesday.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});He was apparently referring to the period when the State Government was ruled by the opposition for nearly nine years which resulted in investors and tourists staying away, amenities like water and electricity not being improved and state revenue hitting all time lows.
The period after 1990 also coincided with an influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries.
The Chief Minister and GRS Chairman said the present GRS-PH State Government’s track record of bringing progress to Sabah has been proven.
“We have more than 400 initiatives under the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya development agenda, and about 94 per cent of them have been implemented,” he said.
He said this was contrary to the opposition’s claims, which wants to pull wool over the peoples’ eyes.
Hajiji said the GRS-PH government approved numerous assistance programmes for the state’s education development and people’s prosperity, which had never been done by any other state government.
“This year alone, we have been giving monthly assistance of RM300 to nearly 100,000 hardcore poor, and this initiative will be continued if the people return the mandate to GRS-PH in the coming election,” he said.
He also said the GRS-PH State Government succeeded in getting greater participation in the oil and gas sector through the historic signing of the Commercial Collaborative Agreement (CCA) with Petronas in 2021.
He said that the State Government, through the Sabah Housing and Town Development Authority (SHTDA), is committed to continuing its agenda of addressing urban and rural poverty through the new township development programme.
He said the long-awaited Paginatan New Township project is expected to drive the local economy in the area, in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development roadmap, which at its core, aims at prioritising the well-being of the people and improving their quality of life.
The 200-acre new township, located 43km from here, will be developed in five phases, involving the construction of various important amenities, including government offices, shops, low-cost housing, multi-purpose hall, library, health centre, market, police and fire stations.
Once completed, the people in Paginatan would no longer have to go to Ranau or Telupid to deal with government departments, he said.
Hajiji also assured that issues affecting the people in Paginatan constituency that were raised by Assemblyman Datuk Abidin Madingkir would be addressed.
Abidin, who is Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, thanked Hajiji for giving the green light for the new township project and urged the people to continue their support for the GRS government in the coming election.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, LPPB Chairman Datuk Masiung Banah, Nominated Assemblywoman Datuk Amisah Yassin, LPPB General Manager Datuk Rosemary Ahping, Ranau District Officer Tinus Manggam, Ranau District Police Chief Supt Mursalin Mahmud and others.