Anwar urges Sabahans to reject self-serving leaders, backs Hajiji’s record ahead of state polls

TUARAN, Nov 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today urged Sabahans to rise and reject leaders who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor in the 17th Sabah State Election on Saturday.

Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, said the action is crucial to ensure harmony and safeguard the future of Sabahans, especially the youth.

“I want the people of Sabah to rise. Decide our future, especially for the young people. It’s your future, and your future is to be decided by you.

“Not by these desperate politicians or some academicians who get angry, make noise, but ignore the facts, sow hatred — the rich benefit at the top, the poor suffer at the bottom,” he said.

The Prime Minister said this at a gathering with local community leaders and entrepreneurs at the Cultural Centre of the Sabah Bajau Sama Association here.

Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who is also Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman, and PKR vice-president and Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

Anwar said the people, especially the youth, need to judge the success of political leaders based on their track record while in office, rather than after retirement or when they become active in campaigning during elections.

“To assess whether a chief minister is effective, or whether the federal government and the Prime Minister are effective, evaluate them now while they are in power. How many leaders has Sabah produced? How many ministers from Sabah are in the federal government?

“When they are no longer in power, retired, they say this is wrong, that is wrong, you haven’t done this, you haven’t done that. When you were in power, what did you actually do?” he asked.

The Prime Minister described Hajiji as a leader who consistently works for the people and has never sought anything for personal or family gain.

“When I come to Sabah, before I even sit down, Hajiji points out our water supply isn’t adequate, the electricity situation, the roads. It shows Hajiji works to raise the interests of the people of Sabah. We negotiate well and resolve issues,” he said.

Anwar said he respects and supports Hajiji for his consistent stance in maintaining strong relations between the state and federal governments for the development of Sabah.

“He (Hajiji) said, ‘I form the state government, I support the federal government, we develop Sabah, we develop Malaysia,’ and to this day he has not wavered from that position,” Anwar said.

A total of 1.76 million people are eligible to cast their ballots in the state election, which involves 73 seats.

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