KOTA KINABALU: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) will ride through the attempts to destabilise the government amid the purported mineral licensing bribery scandal that implicated eight of its assemblymen.
GRS information chief Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said that the eight-party coalition remains united under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, and any attempt to destabilise the state government will fail.
Speaking at a meet-the-people session at Kampung Nadau-Pomorian in Nabalu, about 80km from here, Bangkuai dismissed the likelihood that state polls due only by Sept 2025 would be called anytime soon.
“We will not allow any quarters who are hell-bent on undermining the Sabah government to succeed. They are trying to paint a picture of uncertainty in the state.
“The state government is not only working very hard but is also very open and transparent in its administration,” he said in reference to the controversy involving several assemblymen.
Noting that the Chief Minister’s call to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the matter thoroughly is evidence of transparency of the state’s administration.
“It appears that some quarters could not fathom seeing a state government led by local parties performing very well,” he said yesterday.
Referring to the failed political coup in January 2023 by Sabah Barisan Nasional when it pulled out of the coalition, Bangkuai did not rule out the possibility that those involved in the failed attempt to unseat Hajiji were behind the bribery allegation.
“There seems to be a concerted effort with a well-planned agenda perpetrated by certain quarters to demonise the Hajiji-led government in a desperate hope to get the support of the people.
“It is interesting to note that a certain peninsula-based party is at the forefront in calling on the state government to be replaced, and for Hajiji to resign as Chief Minister,” he said.
In describing such calls as misguided, Bangkuai said there is no reason for Hajiji to resign as he has the full support of the GRS-Pakatan Harapan assemblymen.
“But I believe the people of Sabah are wise enough to ‘read their game’ and would know what to do in the coming state election,” he added.
Bangkuai said the state government remains firmly committed to upholding political stability and fulfilling its mandate from the people of Sabah.
The GRS-PH Plus government recently tabled a RM6.45bil state budget, the biggest ever in Sabah’s history.
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