Sabah Umno tells GRS to focus on people's needs, not slogans

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno urged the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government to use its increasing revenue for the betterment of the people and not focus on just slogans.

State Umno information chief Datuk Suhaimi Nasir said the state government must focus on fixing all the basic issues such as water, electricity and roads, especially with the state government boasting of record high income.

He said the high revenue should be converted to benefit the people who long for reliable water and electricity supplies.

"The Sabah Finance Minister said they accumulated a total revenue of RM19.03bil and received RM18.4bil in federal development allocations over the last three years.

"Despite having substantial funds, the people of Sabah continue to face problems with the very basic facilities such as roads, water and electricity," said Suhaimi, who is Libaran MP and state-nominated assemblyman.

Suhaimi said that with increasing revenue, there should no longer be excuses for not resolving pressing problems.

"People are frustrated. The condition of our roads remains deplorable. It is filled with potholes or badly damaged. We haven’t even touched on the issues of water and electricity, among others.

"Instead of addressing these concerns, they (GRS) are solely focused on politics and displaying 'Sabah Maju Jaya' signs throughout the state," he said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 17).

Suhaimi said the focus should not be on political matters but on the people and their needs.

He said this in response to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor's statement that he had no fear of the possibility of Sabah Barisan Nasional and opposition Parti Warisan teaming up against his seven-party GRS coalition in the next state polls.

Sabah Barisan pulled out of the GRS coalition government in Jan last year after the two worked together in the Sept 2020 state election that toppled the Warisan-Pakatan Harapan state coalition government led by Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

Suhaimi said Umno and its partners in Barisan had their own strength derived from grassroots support in urban and rural areas.

Last week, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said there was no discussion on alliances, but any decision would be made after the state assembly was dissolved.

Suhaimi said Hajiji’s statement about the possible cooperation between Warisan and Barisan was a sign of concern for the Chief Minister.

"Sabah Umno’s preparation for the election was an internal matter and should not concern outsiders. The state Umno has autonomy and will collaborate with genuine and principled allies in our struggle.

"We are ready for the dissolution of the assembly that could be at any time before Sept 2025," he said, adding that they were prepared for straight and multi-cornered contests.