Kota Kinabalu: A former Warisan leader has questioned whether ex-Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal has any real plans to develop the State.
Dismissing the Warisan President’s criticism of current Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s government, Kunak Assemblywoman Norazlinah Arif said Shafie’s claims of corruption within the sitting government are entirely without basis.
She said any comparison between the current Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government and the previous Warisan administration led by Shafie should be grounded in their respective track records.
Norazlinah highlighted that Hajiji had launched initiatives such as the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan, while advancing the State’s blue economy and overseeing Sabah’s oil and gas sector in an effective manner.
“This State Government has a very strong people-based approach, a feature that Shafie’s did not possess,” she said in an interview with FMT.
Norazlinah, a two-term assemblyman, left Warisan to join Hajiji’s Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah in February 2023, after Sabah Umno’s attempt to unseat the Chief Minister fizzled out a month earlier.
Umno was said to be in advanced talks with Warisan to oust the GRS-led State Government at the time.
Shafie has been on the offensive against Hajiji over the past year, linking an alleged mining scandal to the latter’s government.
The GRS chairman, however, has consistently denied all accusations, saying he and his administration had nothing to hide, and dismissing the allegations as politically-motivated.
In April, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission cleared Hajiji of any wrongdoing and lauded the Chief Minister for giving its investigation his fullest cooperation.
Separately, Banggi Assemblyman Mohammad Mohamarin said the GRS-led State Government has quietly resolved several longstanding issues faced by Sabahans.
Mohammad, a former Warisan member, lauded the State Government’s efforts, contrasting them with those of others who tend to launch initiatives to much fanfare but fail to see them through.
The two-term assemblyman cited water supply issues that have long plagued his constituency, saying he had proposed a solution during the tenure of the Warisan government. However, no long-term measures were taken until Hajiji took over the top post, he said.
“Hajiji allocated a massive chunk of funds to upgrade the water treatment plant here,” he said, citing it as “clear evidence” of the State Government’s effectiveness.
