11-05-2025
Things looking bright under GRS
Published on: Sunday, May 11, 2025
Published on: Sun, May 11, 2025
By: Datuk Teddy Chin Text Size: Sabah Maju Jaya signage on display in Papar on 16.9.1963 THE next State general election is expected later this year. The general belief is that expires on 29th September, the date that current Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hj Hajiji Hj Noor was sworn-in for a five-year term in 2020. But my belief is that the Assembly actually expires on 8th December. This is because the 16th Assembly first sat on 9th October 2020 and the Constitution of Sabah stipulates that elections must be held within 5 years of the first Assembly Sitting, plus a 60-day window after the Assembly dissolves. However, it is up to the Assembly Speaker to make a statement on this. Assuming the above is correct, it means that the next election can be held as late as December or end of the year. Anyway, it's up to the Chief Minister on when he would like to dissolve the Assembly, or just let the Assembly 'finish' by itself. If Hajiji wants to 'rule' until the last day, it is understandable. Political history of Sabah has shown that sometimes dissolving the Assembly early or calling for a snap election can have negative results. The Usno-led Alliance Government called for a snap election in 1976 in order to disallow the new party Berjaya space to grow. Alliance lost the election. In 1985, Berjaya also dissolved the Assembly early in order to prevent the newly-formed PBS space to grow. Berjaya not only lost the election. It was a humiliating defeat as it saw the party's strength in the Assembly dwindling from 44 seats to merely 6. Usno made a miraculous comeback in that election, winning 16 seats and was supposed to form a coalition government with PBS. That was the expectation. In 1994, PBS called for a snap election. Rumour had it that this was to prevent KL having time to redraw the electoral boundaries to BN's favour. PBS won alright, but razor-thin. Just like 1985, it only had a simple majority. As expected, the PBS government collapsed less than two months later when 3 of its Assemblymen including a Nominated one jumped. The rest is history. Back to what I actually want to say. As the election gets nearer, one can expect the Opposition to fire all the ammunition that they have against the ruling party. One common tactic is asking the people what the ruling party has done past few years. 'Nothing', they would claim even if they know that this is not true. This is politics. During World War II, Hitler's propaganda chief Herman Goering said that if a lie is repeated often enough, it will eventually be accepted as the truth. Some people tend to believe in lies or propaganda rather than the truth. To some people, especially the Opposition, whatever the Government does is wrong. Back to common sense, let us ask did the present State government do anything concrete to improve Sabahans' lot past few years? The answer is YES, although the Opposition will say 'No' for otherwise they would be out of business. Did any State Government since 2018 have any concrete plan for Sabah's development and progress? In March 2021, despite Sabah still facing the menace of Covid-19, CM Hajiji launched the Sabah Maju Jaya Roadmap or Halatuju SMJ, just a few months after being sworn-in as the State's Chief Executive. It was meant to be a five-year plan from 2021-2025, nicely covering Hajiji's and the GRS+ government's 5-year term. In launching it, Hajiji said the SMJ development plan has outlined three main thrusts to develop the State from 2021-2025. He said the thrusts were based on the SMJ slogan where S refers to the three main economic sectors covering agriculture, industry and tourism; the letter M refers to human capital and the well-being of the people; while the letter J refers to green infrastructure and sustainability networks. 'The three main SMJ thrusts will be driven by five enablers, namely fiscal sustainability, financial facilities, effective and efficient delivery, excellency in integrity and governance, and digital government. 'SMJ is not a personal plan owned by the Chief Minister and Cabinet members, nor is it the right of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government or a plan just for civil servants…SMJ is our Roadmap (Halatuju) and State Coat of Arms which is the right and property of all Sabahans.' Hajiji said five implementation objectives have also been outlined, namely to build a united, peaceful and prosperous State and society; to optimize State resources and revenue, stimulate economic recovery; improve the people's economy and improve human capital. He said the SMJ plan would move in line with the national development agenda under the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030. And was a manifestation of the commitment as pledged by GRS in the 16th State election in 2020. He said to ensure the SMJ Roadmap achieve its goals, every core and enabler would be supported by various initiatives 'To date, a total of 584 initiatives covering 304 core initiatives and 280 enablers have been drafted for implementation starting this year,' he added. The above was what Hajiji said when he launched the SMJ Roadmap in 2021. A lot of water has since flowed under the bridge. Has the SMJ Roadmap achieved its objectives? Any results to show? For me to tell everything here would require a book. For now, I just give the background. More details and updates in the coming weeks. In order not to keep you in suspense, I would just like to quote what Hajiji said recently when launching the Gagasan Rakyat Information Machinery. He said many initiatives have been carried out by the GRS+ government last few years especially, those under the SMJ Roadmap initiatives. 'Educational aid initiative, public welfare such as Rumah Mesra SMJ and the Sentuhan Kasih Rakyat Programme, success in attracting foreign investors to help boost economic growth and job opportunities. This is what the GRS government has implemented over the last four years,' he said. It is understood that the two China and Korean companies alone in KKIP are offering job opportunities to a few thousand Sabah youths with expansion to Kimanis. Speaking to youths at another function, Hajiji said this year alone, the State Government allocated $75.5 million to implement 13 comprehensive educational assistance initiatives. These include the Higher Education Enrolment Cash Aid (Budi), Special Examination Cash Aid (Bakti), Local Higher Education Students' Contribution (Sentosa), Flight Ticket Subsidy (GRS-SUBFLY) and Computer Assistance Grant (Baik). 'In addition, funding for the Sabah State Government Scholarship (BKNS) has been increased from $51 million to $128 million this year, enabling more students to pursue higher education,' he said. Meanwhile, the SMJ slogan is to be respected, not mocked at it is or State Motto as enshrined in the Sabah Coat of Arms. A backbencher at the State Assembly who early last year mocked it was told off by the then Deputy Speaker, Datuk Ahmad Abdul Rahman who said 'If in Pakistan, you would have been shot….' In a recent interview with this writer, the Chief Minister among other things expressed his utmost concern about water and electricity supply in the State, along with other infrastructure projects such as roads. 'We are doing everything we can on the water and electricity situation. Things should improve tremendously once the $4 billion project at hydroelectric plant in Ulus Padas is completed,' he said. The plant is expected to produce 187.5mw and expected to be completed by 2027. It was jointly launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hj Hajiji Hj Noor. It is expected to increase capacity by 15%. A study is also being conducted so that this dam has the potential to supply clean and stable water flow to users up to 6,000 liters per day (MLD). That aside, Sabah Electricity is also doing all it can with a massive project in Lahad Datu while the Water Department is expanding the Water Treatment or Distribution Plants in Telibong, Putatan and Papar. The Borneo Highway construction and other infrastructure facilities are also progressing well. Things are looking bright for Sabah under GRS+ and Hajiji. In conclusion, credit must also go back the man behind the implementation of the SMJ Roadmap Initiatives – the Chief Coordinating Officer of the SMJ Secretariat, Datuk Hj Datu Rosmadi Datu Sulai. Rosmadi is the former Director General of the State Public Service Department and has been with SMJ from Day One. Rosmadi's experience as a former senior civil servant in various capacities certainly prepared well for this new role. Looks like the Chief Minister did not choose the wrong person. Sabah Maju Jaya. The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
