PUTATAN: Deputy Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) urged Malaysians to reject divisive sentiments such as ‘Sabah for Sabahans’ and ‘Anti-Malaya Parties’, saying they undermine national unity ahead of the coming State election.
He said Umno and BN Sabah are not ‘Peninsular parties’ but political entities rooted in the State and led by Sabahans, reminding that it was the people of Sabah who first invited Umno to help strengthen its governance in the 1990s.
Zahid recalled how federal forces defended Sabah’s sovereignty during the 2013 Lahad Datu intrusion and credited former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for establishing the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) to safeguard the east coast.
He said BN’s record of service to Sabahans proves its loyalty to the State and called on voters to give the coalition another mandate, pledging that all promises made in its upcoming manifesto would be fulfilled within the first term.
Zahid also stressed that no single party could govern Sabah alone, expressing BN’s readiness to cooperate with other coalitions to ensure stability while reaffirming the coalition’s commitment to restoring Sabah’s dignity and unity.