-filepic
KOTA KINABALU: The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) is confident of getting a fresh mandate in the coming state election, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Hajiji dismissed Opposition insinuations that GRS was weak and begging for a second term in the coming state election due by September this year.
Contrary to claims by opponents, Hajiji said that various plans put under Sabah Maju Jaya had been effective in bringing development for the state and the people.
Hajiji, who was speaking at a GRS "Love Sabah Tour" event in Ranau, about 100km from here, said that when he asked the people for a second term to complete the plans laid out, his opponents twisted it to make it look like GRS was weak and pleading for support.
He said GRS' opponents were playing on words to belittle his call to the people for a second term.
"There are also leaders who say that if we ask for the mandate back from the people, they twist it. I don't understand either, if we say it's good, they say something else.
"If we say that the government's achievements today are so good and we need to be given a mandate again in the next election, we say that because we are confident that we can rule Sabah once again after the election.
"We are not weak, some say we have failed but this government has not failed, on the other hand what has failed is our detractors," he said.
Hajiji urged the people not to make a wrong choice in the next election to ensure that the state continues development and stability and avoid mistakes in Sabah's political history.
"We have to learn our past political history, we must be united.
"We must be smart in politics, it's enough that we have been quarrelled and divided before, let's not miss this opportunity.
"Many parties now see the unity of GRS, we show them that GRS is the choice of our people in Sabah who are made up of various races.
"This is a golden opportunity that we offer to the people of Sabah," he said, adding that GRS as a coalition of local parties was the right choice for the people of Sabah.
