KOTA KINABALU – Gabungan Rakyat Sabah is unconcerned about the appointment of the future prime minister as long as the government returns Sabah’s autonomous rights to the state, said Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan.
He said with Sabah’s political unity in GRS, the coalition can become a political force that can rise above Putrajaya in the state.
“GRS leaders have had enough with Sabahans being divided and ruled over by federal powers, and have decided it is time to come together to make Sabah and Sabahans a force to be reckoned with.
“Under GRS in Sabah, we don’t care who will become prime minister. What’s important to us is to have all our rights returned,” he said during his speech at the GRS roadshow in Tenom today.
Kitingan said Sabah has entered an improved political era under GRS, as political unity has given Sabahans the power to rid the state of the divide-and-rule brand of politics they have suffered for decades.
“We are seeing a change in politics today. For so long, we’ve been divided and chopped into pieces so that the federal government could rule over us and make decisions for us.
“It’s taken us about 50 years to realise this and throughout that period, we’ve wasted so much,” he said.
Kitingan also said that GRS’ success in bringing old political friends and foes under one umbrella proves that Sabah leaders in the coalition now value unity.
He also warned that if Sabah, as one of the poorest states in the country, continues to be politically divided and disunited, the state will sink further into poverty.
He noted that Sabah is already way behind its neighbour Sarawak in terms of development.
“All of this is because we’ve not been united,” he said.
Bersatu, SAPP, and Sabah Star are not only members of GRS, but are also part of the Perikatan Nasional coalition, which originated in Peninsular Malaysia.
PBS is the only party in GRS that has no links with either Barisan Nasional or PN.
This scenario renders Sabah parties a potential kingmaker in the upcoming general elections as support by the state-based coalition could swing to either BN or PN.
However, if an electoral pact does materialise between GRS and BN, these parties would be working with BN in terms of seat-sharing and campaigning. – The Vibes, October 22, 2022
