Nizam
KOTA KINABALU (March 17): The GRS-PH Plus government did not accuse any political party for the lack of basic infrastructure and facilities in the state, said Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) information chief Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan.
However there are state political leaders who have claimed that the problems with the basic infrastructure in the state is the failure of the state government, Nizam lamented.
“The attitude of opposition leaders who constantly accuse the present government of being a failure seems to confirm the assumption that these opposition leaders are insincere in advancing Sabah and are overly involved in political games by attempting to sabotage every step taken by the government towards resolving the decades-old inherited issue,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
Nizam pointed out that although the present government is only three years old and facing various obstacles including the Covid-19 pandemic and coup attempts by those who want to form a backdoor government, the current state government led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor is always focused and striving to solve the inherited problems.
“Accusing the present government as a failed government implies that the government has done nothing, whereas various actions and approaches have been taken, and some have brought benefits to the target group while others are still being implemented,” he said.
It is undeniable that some leaders of the present government are from the previous government, said Nizam, adding, “However, even though the party leading the Sabah government at that time was a dominant peninsula-based party, Sabah always felt marginalized because the distribution of development funds received from the federal government did not meet the actual needs of development in the state.
There are still many basic amenities issues in Sabah that remain unresolved, he said.
“In recognition of these weaknesses, it is time for the leaders and people of Sabah to unite to continue the struggle to defend the fate and rights of Sabahans within the framework of local parties because this state is our home, and we are the ones who safeguard it,” he said.
According to Nizam, the people of Sabah must unite under a local umbrella and avoid division to safeguard the interests of the state and its people, besides national interests.
“We need stable politics for the government to focus on implementing the state development agenda in line with the direction of Sabah Maju Jaya. Alhamdulillah, so far, the GRS-PH Plus government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Hajiji has shown positive signs from all aspects of the struggle, whether in terms of state economic improvement, the struggle for the Malaysia Agreement 1963, and the steps taken to resolve decades-old basic amenities issues.
“We also thank the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, for always understanding the needs of Sabah and working together with the government led by Datuk Seri Hajiji,” he said.
To address the root causes of the failure to upgrade or resolve the state’s basic infrastructure, the current state government demanded to take over the supervision of energy, recognize the Public Works Department as a Technical Department, implement federal projects under RM50 million, and establish a trust fund for development allocations from the federal government to prevent past mistakes from recurring.
The GRS-PH Plus government is working hard to strengthen political stability and unity in Sabah, said Nizam.
“The struggle to uplift the people and develop the state of Sabah is a priority and must be implemented.
The present Sabah government is on the right track to continue development for the well-being of all its people,” he added.