KOTA KINABALU: The debate over Sabah's governance record is heating up as the state election draws closer, with a Sabah Umno leader pushing back against a GRS assemblyman for being part of the same political system blamed for the state’s long-standing infrastructure problems.
Sabah Umno information chief, who is also Libaran MP, Datuk Suhaimi Nasir (pic), said Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan, who currently serves as the Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, should "look in the mirror" before criticising others over the state's infrastructure challenges.
"Between 1999 and 2023, when Sabah's timber revenue reached RM5.3bil, who were the ministers and assistant ministers responsible for managing these resources?" Suhaimi said in a statement on Thursday (May 15).
"Who failed to manage the state's natural wealth properly? Despite years of massive revenue collections, who neglected basic infrastructure like water, electricity, and roads. These are not problems that appeared overnight, but the result of decades of poor governance," he added.
Suhaimi was responding to Nizam’s recent remarks, in which the latter defended the current GRS government, arguing that Sabah’s infrastructure problems were inherited from previous administrations.
"Don’t blame the party, because parties have no life. It’s the living ministers who must take responsibility – including you, Nizam," Suhaimi said.
He further argued that Nizam and other GRS leaders, including Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, should take responsibility for these past failures, as they were part of the same administrations that oversaw these critical sectors.
"Without Umno, you might still be waiting in line for a seat of power, never knowing the trust of the people," Suhaimi said.
Suhaimi also dismissed attempts to deflect blame, arguing that the current Umno leadership in Sabah, made up of 90% new faces, is focused on correcting the mistakes of the past.
"Don't try to cover up your own failures by throwing mud at others. Sabah needs leaders who know how to work, not just those who know how to put on a show," he added.
"People don’t need the voices of frogs from old political ponds. They need voices of sincere and honest development," he said.
