Kota Kinabalu: Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid denied that having Barisan Nasional as part of the next State Government in the Nov. 29 State election will weaken Sabah’s position on state rights.
He said the coalition would honour its word on the full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement (MA1963) commitments.
“Before 2018, Sabah and Sarawak each had federal ministers representing their states to translate MA63 into implementation. Today, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof continues that work with the mandate given by the Prime Minister.
“I will push at the federal Cabinet level to ensure MA63 is implemented in full and Sabah BN leaders like Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph, will continue to voice these demands,” he said.
His remarks were in the wake of recent comments by former Umno law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who in a podcast described Sabah’s MA63 rights as a “burden,” and urged the Federal Government to “cancel it”.
According to Zaid, fulfilling MA63 would bankrupt Peninsular Malaysia as he reckoned Sabah is owed “an estimated RM300 billion which could not be repaid even if Petronas were sold off”.
He said Sabah’s demands for greater autonomy were excessive and suggested that if Sabah wanted independence, it should be allowed to “go,” as Malaya would survive without difficulty.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim decided not to appeal the court ruling on the 40pc tax revenue as stipulated under MA63 due to political sensitivities during the Sabah election period.
Zahid dismissed Zaid’s remarks saying they do not represent BN’s stance nor the reality of MA63 implementation.
He also reaffirmed BN’s seat arrangements with Pakatan Harapan, noting that all BN-PH contests follow agreed cooperation.
On who should be Chief Minister after the election, he said it would only be discussed after a substantial number of seats is secured.
“When we win enough seats, then we will conduct our consultation process to decide on the Chief Minister candidate. The party hierarchy must be respected,” he said.
He said the next Chief Minister will be chosen through a syura-style consultation, if BN and its partners win.
He said BN and Pakatan Harapan have “cooperation and understanding” in all the seats they are contesting, adding that any decision on the chief minister’s post will respect party hierarchy and established organisational processes.
Syura is a leadership decision-making process based on closed-door consultation and consensus among those in authority, rather than a public vote.
Zahid also said BN remains undeterred by a series of increasingly aggressive political attacks ahead of the state polls, including targeted attacks against Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin.
BN is contesting 45 of the 73 state assembly seats. He is confident the BN Sabah manifesto drafted by Sabahans is capable of addressing the state’s chronic problems involving water supply, electricity and roads.
He said foreign direct investors will only come to Sabah once these three major issues are resolved.
“Sabah’s economic challenges cannot be solved without confronting the unemployment issue head-on. Twenty percent of Malaysia’s unemployment comes from Sabah. That’s roughly 169,000 individuals.
“This is why the high-value TVET ecosystem we’re introducing is being emphasised in Sabah. Through these TVET programmes, we can equip Sabah’s youth with skills that open real job opportunities,” he said.
He also highlighted BN Sabah’s proposal for a new affordable housing scheme targeting young families where rented homes would eventually be transferred to ownership, with rental payments becoming part of the monthly instalment.
The concept is designed to support newly married couples and young parents who often rely on rented homes or their families’ residences.
He said Kudat will become a major port for the state supported by federal collaboration. A new airport for Sabah was also among the projects mentioned.
“These are not empty promises. This is continuity from what BN has previously started. Key Performance Indicators and National Key Results Areas will be implemented to ensure these promises are fulfilled,” he said.
