Gerakan Sabah supports fight for Sabah’s rights under MA63
KOTA KINABALU: Gerakan Sabah fully supports the state government led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor in its fight for Sabah’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Gerakan Sabah chairman Datuk Alexander Lo Su Hyen said that Hajiji, the chairman of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), has repeatedly stressed that the state government will continue to strive for its rights to obtain 40 per cent of net tax revenue under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution from the federal government. The mission of the alliance (GRS) will never retreat.
He believes that the state government led by Hajiji will achieve the goals through good relations with the federal government. Therefore, he called on the people of Sabah to unite and become Hajiji’s strong backing in fighting for Sabah’s rights.
In addition, Lo pointed out that since Hajiji helmed the state for two years, many tangible development results have been achieved through the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development blueprint, including foreign investment totalling RM9.9 billion in the first nine months of this year, making Sabah the third largest most foreign-invested state.
He said that Hajiji is committed to build Sabah as an investor-friendly state, reduce unnecessary red tape and make Sabah a destination for foreign investment.
Soon, he said the Chief Minister will introduce Sabah’s own Malaysia Second Home Program (SMM2H) to attract foreigners to live in Sabah and to stimulate the economic growth in Sabah.
However, he said, as Hajiji has repeatedly stressed Sabah cannot succeed politically if the people remain divided, let alone move towards progress and prosperity.
Lo also pointed out that Hajiji recently announced that the Sabah cabinet agreed to put forward a motion to amend the constitution in the upcoming state assembly to limit the term of office of the Sabah Chief Minister to two terms, which fully shows that Hajiji has an enlightened political thinking.
He said that amending the constitution to limit the term of office of the Chief Minister will curb the problem of political abuse in Sabah in the future, and will play an important role in reforming Sabah’s democratic process.
He hoped that all members of the state assembly including the ruling and opposition would fully support the motion to ensure the future progress and democracy of Sabah.
On the other hand, Lo said that Gerakan Sabah is a political party completely led by local leaders. At the same time, it has the political resources and experience advantages of a national political party. It can serve as a voice for the Sabah people on the national political stage.
He said that Gerakan National President Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai announced last year that the party had obtained the ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery management system international certification, the first Malaysian political party to obtain this certification, showing the party’s determination to implement the integrity policy.
In addition, Lo also revealed that Alijus Sipil, the former Supreme Council of Sabah PKR, had joined Gerakan Sabah in July this year, proving that the party’s multi-racial concept has been recognized by the indigenous community.
He said Alijus was also appointed as the deputy chairman of Sabah Gerakan (the Bumiputera quota) and is currently working on setting up the party division in Sabah.
Besides, Lo revealed in a meeting held by Gerakan Sabah at the party headquarters in Kota Kinabalu recently that in order to help young people understand the 2023 National Budget to be presented in October, Gerakan Sabah will organize a seminar on the national budget, and will invite the chief treasurer of the Malaysian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Datuk Kong Ling Long to serve as the speaker.
He said Gerakan Sabah will also hold a “Gerakan Sabah Night” on the same night as the seminar, and the date and venue will be announced later.
Attendees at the meeting included Sabah Gerakan Deputy Chairman Datuk William Chu, Secretary General Kapitan Albert Kok JP, Chief Treasurer William Ooi, Publicity Chief Dennis Gan and Youth Chief Edmund Ong.