GABUNGAN Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has leaned on Sabah’s political history to defend Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s decision to stick with Pakatan Harapan in the next state election.
The Sabah chief minister said the state’s past made it clear that any administration needed strong federal ties to survive, and to deliver.
“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 at the ground-breaking of the Paginatan new township near the Nunuk Ragang Memorial in Ranau today.
Hajiji pointed to what he called a proven track record of the GRS-PH success, saying over 94% of the 400 initiatives under the “Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya” development plan had been implemented to date.
The GRS-PH government, he added, had done what previous administrations could not such as giving RM300 monthly aid to nearly 100,000 hardcore poor.
The programme, he said, would continue if voters returned the coalition to power. He also cited the 2021 Commercial Collaboration Agreement with Petronas as a “historic” breakthrough in giving Sabah greater say in its oil and gas industry.
The Paginatan township project, spanning 200 acres and to be developed in five phases, will include housing, government offices, a market, library, health centre, and police and fire stations. Once completed, locals will no longer need to travel to Ranau or Telupid for basic services.
Hajiji said issues raised by Paginatan assemblyman Datuk Abidin Madingkir would be addressed, and the project aligned with efforts to close the rural-urban gap under the Sabah Maju Jaya plan. - August 12, 2025
