SABAH-PUTRAJAYA TIES SHOULD BE STRENGTHENED THROUGH HARMONY NOT CONFRONTATION - HAJIJI

By ROHANA NASRAH

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Relations between Sabah and Putrajaya need to continue to be strengthened through a harmonious approach to ensure that every effort to bring about sustainable development in the state can be implemented effectively, including the resolution of issues related to the state's claims in Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor stressed that any form of confrontation with the federal government will only harm Sabah, on the contrary, a constructive approach and harmonious discussions are an important basis to ensure the smooth running of the state's development agenda.

On the issue of the return of 40 per cent of Sabah's revenue, for example, Hajiji said bilateral discussions between the Sabah and federal governments have begun through a meeting held last Monday to find the best mechanism to manage the matter.

"We hope that from there, we will start looking for a payment formula for the state of Sabah and that the revenue will be used to develop Sabah," he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama at the Chief Minister's official residence in Sri Gaya, here, recently.

Commenting further, Hajiji said that although some Sabah leaders are more inclined to confront the federal government, he does not agree with that approach because it does not benefit the state's progress as a whole.

“I don't want to use that approach (confrontation). If we fight, what's the point? There are some leaders in Sabah, who like confrontation because maybe their goal is to get support from the people of Sabah.

“We can't take that approach and I can't do that because for me we must harmonise the situation because this is our country,” he said.

According to Hajiji, the federal government approved many development applications for Sabah during his time as Chief Minister and all of that was the result of the close cooperative relationship between the two parties that brought consensus in every negotiation.

He said among the successes achieved was the signing of the Commercial Cooperation Agreement between the Sabah government and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) in December 2021 which thus charted a new chapter in cooperation in the development of the oil and gas industry.

“What I have done in these five years, although not publicised, we have achieved many successes. This needs to continue. State and federal relations must be friendly and close so that we can further develop Sabah in the future," he said.

Among the successes of the Sabah government led by Hajiji include receiving financial assistance of RM320.25 million from the federal government to help accelerate its short-term plan in addressing the water crisis in the state.

This includes the implementation of six programmes consisting of 20 projects throughout the state including nine for the districts of Kota Kinabalu, Tuaran, Putatan, Papar, Beaufort, Keningau, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Sandakan.

In addition, the Land Below the Wind also continues to collaborate with the federal government in implementing various initiatives to improve the performance of the electricity supply in the state, among others based on the regulatory power with the targets set in the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040.

Sabah also saw the federal government double the amount of interim special grants to RM600 million starting this year, in addition to becoming the state to receive the largest development allocation in the Budget.

-- BERNAMA