SANDAKAN – A senior Warisan leader has insisted that Sabah is embroiled in a political crisis, despite assertions suggesting otherwise.
Party information chief Datuk Azis Jamman emphasised that the party’s focus was on keeping Sabahans informed about the crisis, regardless of potential collaboration in the next state election.
Azis admitted to having an alternative plan in place should the intended alliance with Umno falter.
He highlighted the “critical” situation in Sabah under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government, pointing out the alleged failures in addressing key issues.
“GRS has failed to drive Sabah out of the mess and we are lacking in a lot of things as compared to our neighbour Sarawak. Water, electricity and roads should be the priority because these three matters would determine if local and foreign investors would invest in Sabah,” he told Scoop today.
“Electing and putting the right leadership in place is crucial for Sabah to come out of the current mess caused by the incompetent GRS administration.”
Addressing the speculation of a Warisan-Umno pact, Azis mentioned ongoing discussions between the two parties.
While acknowledging the existence of contingency plans, he declined to comment further, stating that decisions rested with party president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
“Politics is dynamic, and there are always alternative plans. The collaboration with Umno has shown promise so far, with discussions and joint programmes, but formal announcements will be made by the top leaders at the appropriate time,” Azis explained.
He drew parallels with Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s strategy of revealing alliances after the dissolution of the state assembly, noting that Warisan would adopt a similar approach.
In the meantime, Azis disclosed Warisan’s priorities, including reducing Sabah’s dependency on the federal government and ending the outsourcing of the state’s resources.
Regardless of the party Warisan collaborates with, Azis assured Sabahans that the overarching vision was to restore Sabah’s prosperity in development, education, health and the economy.
On January 8, Zahid denied reports of political turmoil brewing within Sabah Umno, despite reports of him attending an emergency meeting with party leaders in the state.
He said he met with all Sabah Umno divisional chiefs and representatives to provide updates on several party matters, including the party’s machinery structure.
This comes ahead of possible snap polls in Sabah, although the state election is not due until 2025.
Zahid said that Sabah Umno would determine its coalition partner only after the dissolution of the Sabah government.
Presently in Sabah, Umno and Pakatan Harapan (PH) do not share common ground, as Sabah PH is aligned with the state government under GRS. In contrast, Sabah Umno is part of the opposition, along with Warisan.
This came after Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin withdrew support for GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as chief minister early last year. – January 14, 2024