CM expresses displeasure over mocking of ‘Sabah Maju Jaya’ slogan
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has expressed his displeasure with certain parties who mock the sacred Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) slogan either through writings or comments on social media.
He said even though SMJ is a simple phrase, it carries a message and great meaning calling on every Sabahan to love progress and success.
“Our intention and desire is to raise and exalt the sacred slogan Sabah Maju Jaya from the state Coat of Arms which is always seen and read by us, but there are many who ridicule it,” Hajiji said during a gathering of state and federal civil service members at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here on Monday.
“To me, making fun of and disparaging the Sabah Maju Jaya slogan is the same as disrespecting, or not loving, even insulting one’s state,” he said.
Hajiji said that other states, including neighboring country, Indonesia, also have their own slogans. For example, Sarawak introduced the slogan “Sarawak Maju Makmur” to boost the progress of the state. Selangor uses “Kita Selangor Maju Bersama”.
According to him, Terengganu uses the term “Terengganu Maju, Berkat, Sejahtera”. Melaka introduced the slogan “Bijak Laksana Tuah, Berani Laksana Jebat”, while the state of Kedah used “Kedah Sejahtera - Nikmat Untuk Semua”.
Indonesia raised the slogan “Terus Melaju Untuk Indonesia Maju”.
“The fact is, we need to be determined to excel and work diligently, especially as members of the public service who are committed and responsible to make Sabah more advanced and its people advanced”.
He added that irrespective of rising issues and challenges, we need to face them together with tenacity and wisdom.
“Do not be easily influenced by infighting or provocation by irresponsible parties who only want to see us continue fighting. We need to focus fully on making Sabah more advanced and successful,” he insisted.
Hajiji said that after nearly three years of implementation, the SMJ Roadmap has been able to lead the state of Sabah to the right track to continue to progress and develop through several economic indicators showing success and reflecting authority in administering and managing the state’s economy.
“In line with the commitment and spirit of SMJ’s Roadmap, last year, we managed to record the highest state government revenue in history, amounting to RM6.973 billion. Actually, we have started that momentum since steering the state government by recording a large amount of state revenue which is RM5.449 billion in 2021 and RM6.960 billion in 2022. Since leading Sabah, the State Government has managed to record an excellent record in terms of the highest revenue collection in history for three consecutive years.
“The success is definitely driven by the hard work of the civil servants who have excellently performed their duties and responsibilities. Well done to those who always work hard, and thank you for the commitment of all that has resulted in continued success,” he added.
In addition to obtaining high state revenue, Hajiji said Sabah also managed to record an increase in cumulative investment amounting to more than RM33 billion, in addition to the highest trading record in history, amounting to RM118.1 billion in 2022.
Hajiji is optimistic, with several achievements and the state’s economic performance is positive and recovering, Sabah is able to achieve the projected economic growth of around four percent this year.