KOTA KINABALU : – Gagasan Rakyat Sabah is open to working with Umno again.
“It is not impossible. In politics, nothing is impossible,” said Gagasan Rakyat Sabah president Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor.
He reminded that Umno/Barisan Nasional (BN) is in the current government, and said that this was what made Sabah unique.
“If we look at the Cabinet lineup, there is minister, Shahelmey (Works Minister, Datuk Shahelmey Yahya), even though he is suspended (by Umno), and three assistant ministers from Umno-BN who are still in the government, while many others are still chairing statutory bodies and GLCs.”
“That’s what is happening,” said Hajiji to the media after attending the party’s Supreme Council meeting at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) Friday.
Hajiji also said that those in Umno who claim to be the opposition are also welcome to so so.
“Let them be the opposition if they claim to be the opposition,” said Hajiji.
He also said that Gagasan Rakyat Sabah is part of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition which formed the present government with PH Plus.
He added that there are representatives from BN and Umno who support the government and are part of it.
“We have ministers and assistant ministers who are still in the government. This is what we want — no conflicts. Let’s make sure we work together to develop our state and ensure that the unity among our people of various ethnicities continues to bring benefits to all of us,” he said.
Hajiji also expressed his hope that the support given will continue on after the dissolution of the government.
“Hopefully. I am confident that we can cooperate with anyone,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gagasan Rakyat Sabah now has nearly 300,000 members.
“I have been informed that we have nearly 300,000 members, so now each division and branch are campaigning to gain more members. I am confident that within one to two months, we will surpass 300,000 members in Sabah,” he said.
He added that division meetings across Sabah will be held from Aug 17 and continue until the end of Sept.
“We have directed all divisions to be ready to successfully conduct their respective meetings because the branch meetings have already been held. We hope that these meetings will run smoothly and the people will get to know our party and be able to express their views and opinions in their respective division meetings,” he said.
Hajiji also informed that the party’s State-level general assembly meeting will be held in November.
Among the matters raised during the Supreme Council meeting included ways to strengthen the party, to increase the membership, and so on.
“The goal is to ensure that the Gagasan Rakyat party is strong and accepted by the people,” he said.