KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will maintain the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-Pakatan Harapan cooperation formula as it wants to continue its strong relationship with the federal government, said Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The Chief Minister and GRS chairman reiterated that the GRS supreme council has agreed to maintain this present formula in the upcoming state election.
"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 during the ground-breaking ceremony for the Paginatan new township held at the Nunuk Ragang Memorial open-air hall, in Ranau.
Hajiji added that history has shown that both state and federal governments must work together as the present GRS-Pakatan state government's track record of bringing progress to Sabah has been proven.
He said Sabah has over 400 initiatives under the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya development agenda, with about 94% of them implemented thus far.
He said this was contrary to the opposition's claim, which he said was intended to mislead the people.
“The GRS-Pakatan government had approved numerous assistance programmes for the state's education development and people's prosperity, which had never been done by other state governments.
"This year alone, we are giving monthly assistance of RM300 to nearly 100,000 hardcore poor, and this initiative will be continued if the people returned the mandate to GRS-Pakatan in the coming election," he said.
Hajiji also said that the GRS-Pakatan state government had 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.
Earlier, he said Sabah, through the Sabah Housing and Town Development Authority, is committed to continuing its agenda of addressing urban and rural poverty in the state.
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 development roadmap.
The 200-acre new township will be developed in five phases, involving the construction of various important amenities, including government offices, shops, low-cost housing, library, multi-purpose hall, health centre, market, police and fire stations.
Once completed, people in Paginatan no longer have to go to Ranau or Telupid to deal with government departments, said Hajiji.
