SABAH Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan has rubbished claims by Libaran MP Datuk Suhaimi Nasir that the Chief Minister had failed in effectively governing the state.
Nizam, who is also Gagasan Rakyat information chief, described the UMNO leader’s remarks as “baseless, biased and politically motivated”, insisting that Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s administration has steered Sabah back on track over the past five years.
“The allegations that the Chief Minister’s long experience has not brought any benefit to the people is pure slander, and it ignores the real facts of development that have taken place in Sabah,” Nizam said in a statement today.
He pointed to what he called “decades of legacy problems” in basic infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity, many of which, he noted, stemmed from the time UMNO itself was in government.
Nizam stressed that since 2021, funds had been channelled under the Sabah Maju Jaya roadmap to upgrade rural roads, speed up dam projects, improve water distribution, and work with Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd to stabilise power supply.
On unemployment, Nizam argued that Sabah had in fact seen steady gains in job creation, citing RM35.38 billion worth of investments involving 420 projects between 2021 and 2024, particularly in oil and gas, tourism, downstream agriculture and technology.
He also dismissed allegations of a “mineral licensing scandal”, saying no prospecting licences had been issued and that Sabah Mineral Management had already taken legal action against what he called “false reports”.
As for Suhaimi’s suggestion that Hajiji should “retire”, Nizam retorted that such talk was nothing more than “cheap political rhetoric”.
“The reality is that Hajiji’s leadership has succeeded in putting Sabah back on the path of development, restoring investor confidence and strengthening state revenue, including Sabah’s direct participation in Petronas. These are tangible achievements, not gimmicks,” he said.
Nizam added that Sabahans remember who truly failed to safeguard integrity in the past, and who left behind debts and unresolved structural problems. - August 29, 2025
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