Musa Aman and Sabah BN to 'talk less, work harder, deliver more'

With the 13th general election drawing closer, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman tells Joniston Bangkuai that Sabah BN is in high spirits and will offer its best people to work for the people

Question: With the 13th general election expected to be held soon, how prepared is Sabah BN?

Answer: The preparation to face the 13th general election is an ongoing process. We don't work just because the election is around the corner. We have been working all this while, going down to the ground to find out the problems facing the people. I keep reminding elected representatives they must do this the day they assume that YB (Yang Berhormat) title.

Sabah BN is continuing to work to strengthen the party machinery in order to meet the expectations of the coming election. All matters and issues are being looked into seriously and put into proper perspective and dealt with appropriately. As such, I would say that Sabah BN is ready to face the 13th general election at any given time.

Question: In the 2008 election, the Sabah BN under your leadership nearly made a clean sweep. Do you see the BN repeating that feat or maybe do even better?

Answer: In the 2008 election, we did tremendously well but what is more important is to not be complacent. We have been working harder to be a people-centric government which has and will continue to create comprehensive development that benefits all segments of society. I have always believed my government should talk less, work harder and deliver more in order to meet the expectations of the rakyat. This is what we have done for the last four years.

As we are preparing for the 13th general election, when I did my rounds, I have seen that everyone in BN is in high spirits and is giving undivided commitment and support the struggles of the BN. In these rounds, I always remind the people of all the good that the BN government has done and is doing, especially under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who has been kind and generous to Sabah, judging by the huge allocations channelled to the state for our socioeconomic development.

The rakyat will be the judge of what the BN government has achieved. Hence, we are ready to leave it to the wisdom of the rakyat to decide the outcome of the 13th general election.

Question: How would you describe the level of cooperation among the state BN component parties?

Answer: The state BN always upholds the principle of being united and cooperative. We have always found the best approach to solve issues and problems. Of course, things might not always be perfect and there are always challenges.

Whatever differences we may have can be overcome as long as we are sincere. This is not a one-man show or a one-man struggle. This struggle is for the party, the coalition and more importantly, for the people. At the end of the day, the BN has always come back to the main objective of serving the rakyat's needs as best we can.

Question: You have openly said that you are ever willing to meet any state leaders to discuss problems or issues, if any, that need to be resolved. Can you elaborate?

Answer: Since I took over as the chief minister of Sabah, my approach has been very simple. I have always had an open door policy. I have always made time for talking over issues, building trust and strengthening understanding. From the start, the BN government has been based on cooperation among members of its component parties.

The contribution of all component parties to the success of the BN government is always of equal importance. We are all siblings in a big family. Sometimes one sibling or another will try to get extra attention. This is normal in any healthy family. As the one entrusted by the top leadership to look after the well-being of our BN component siblings, I am here to listen and to offer the best possible solutions.

Question: Has the state BN decided on its list of candidates for the general election?

Answer: The state BN has identified its winnable candidates based on the candidates' track record. We are offering our best people to work for the rakyat.

Question: Will there be any new faces as part of the rejuvenation process in the state BN?

Answer: As I mentioned earlier on, the candidates for the 13th general election are proposed based on their winnable values. It does not matter whether they are old or new faces. As long as they have commitment and energy to work for the rakyat and meet the KPIs, they will be shortlisted.

Question: What about the allocation of seats among the state BN component parties? Will there be any changes?

Answer: The formula for seat allocation has always been decided after exhaustive discussion with all the component parties. The result has almost always been an acceptable consensus. Any change in seat allocations among BN component parties must be in the best interest of BN as a whole.

Question: The seats won by Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) in the last election are being eyed by nearly all the state BN component parties. Has the issue been decided?

Answer: It is regrettable that a component party had chosen to withdraw from the BN fold. But in politics, nothing is impossible. Since SAPP has decided to withdraw from BN, the seats allocated to it in the 2008 election will be distributed among other BN component parties.

Question: Any changes or swapping of seats among the component parties?

Answer: We cannot speculate on that now.

Question: In the 2008 election, the BN lost the Chinese-dominated Kota Kinabalu parliamentary and Sri Tanjung state seats. This time around how do you see the Chinese support for the BN?

Answer: From by-election results in recent years, the support of the Chinese community for the state BN government seems to be increasing.

From my own perspective, the Chinese community does not vote blindly based on personalities alone. They normally vote based on proven track records. As such the state BN government so far has performed outstandingly, particularly on matters related to economic development.

We are fortunate to have a visionary prime minister who introduced the 1Malaysia concept and the various transformation programmes that help to create a more balanced socio-economic development that meets the aspirations of the rakyat at large. And this, I believe, is one of the most crucial conditions to win the rakyat's hearts and minds. Therefore, I'm confident the Chinese community in Sabah will give their support to the BN government.

NST