Support me, Najib urges Sabahans

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today urged Sabahans to continue to support him and the government in its bid to “repay” the goodwill of Sabahans over the years.

“Just as my father was committed to bringing North Borneo into the fold for mutual benefit, I am committed to repaying the goodwill that my eastern brothers have shown the country. 

“Sabah will continue to be a top priority in Malaysia’s development and I hope that Sabahans will continue supporting me in this goal,” he said.

Invoking his father, second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein’s(right) legacy in a blog posting today, Najib said that the Sabah’s decision to join Malaysia greatly contributed to the economy.

“My father respected (Sabahan leader) OKK Sedomon greatly, at times he referred to him as ‘Bapak’.

“Indeed (the decision to bring North Borneo into Malaysia as Sabah) played an important role in making Malaysia the second largest economy in Asean,” he said.

Najib, who will be heading to Sabah tomorrow, said that in return, the government has “prioritised” Sabah's welfare through the Government Transformation Programme (GTP). 

This includes improving basic amenities, building more roads, increasing electricity supply and facilitating the expansion of MASwings from a community airline to a regional airline serving Sabah and Sarawak.

“When the sun rises in Malaysia, it shines on Sabah first,” said Najib, who is speculated to be announcing the much awaited terms of reference for the royal commission of inquiry on illegal migrants there.

The PM's visit to the land below the wind comes after the defection of two members of parliament, including a deputy minister from the BN. 
 
‘Sabah BN parties must leave BN’

Najib's appeal, however, comes at the same time as a call by newly-formed Sabah opposition party State Reform Party (Star) for all Sabah parties to make a stand by leaving the BN.

Star deputy chairperson Daniel John Jambun said that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's recent blog posting justifying the naturalisation of illegal migrants in Sabah. “proves that he was involved in Projek IC”.

Projek IC is the monicker given to an allegedly politically-motivated mass naturalisation project starting in the 1990s. 

“BN parties in Sabah are in a morally untenable position after Mahathir's statement which was made to pre-empt the imminent RCI in Sabah,” he said in a statement.

Daniel said the handing out of citizenship to illegal migrants for political purposes is treason and urged the purging of these naturalised citizens from the electoral roll.