KOTA KINABALU – The previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government had a “great vision” for Sabah’s development during his tenure as prime minister but it could not be achieved after the coalition lost federal power in 2018, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
He said that he did not want to brag, but he brought a lot of development to Sabah, and had planned for more.
As examples, he pointed to the Pan Borneo Highway and Kota Kinabalu International Convention Centre.
“If BN won (the general election) in 2018, I would have developed Tg Aru into a tourism centre, and built a bridge connecting Labuan to Sabah,” he said during a meeting with local leaders here after his Gaya Street walkabout.
Najib said there were a lot of development projects planned for Sabah that could guarantee thousands of job opportunities.
“Sabah has a huge potential and if we can get our act together, we can make this a reality.
“Investors are waiting to see if Malaysia will achieve political stability. All this when they have other choices – to invest in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam. They have no reason to choose Malaysia if we don’t have a stable government.”
He added that BN has the upper hand after winning two state elections – Melaka and Johor – in Peninsular Malaysia.
He also took the opportunity to slam DAP, saying the party’s staunch Chinese supporters are beginning to shift away from it as they want to support a party that ensures a thriving economy.
“After (the people) judged DAP, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional’s performances, more and more people are concluding that other parties are not comparable to BN when it comes to (managing) the economy and taking care of the welfare of the people.”
Prior to his morning walkabout, some 20 people from opposition parties gathered at around 7.30am near Deasoka Square to protest rising food prices and demand the implementation of Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement.
Among those who participated in the demonstration were Sabah PKR Youth information chief Razeef Rakimin, Sabah DAP Youth’s Desmond Chan and Sabah Muda chief Amos Thien.
“Our presence here is to voice our opposition to a string of problems faced by the people,” said Chan. – The Vibes, July 3, 2022
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