Sabah polls: GRS, Warisan fighting for project credit while people continue to suffer — Awang Aslee

KOTA KINABALU - The ongoing dispute between Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan (Warisan), both claiming credit for development projects, has been described as a display of cheap politics ahead of the 17th Sabah state election.

Beaufort Umno Division chief Datuk Awang Aslee said the public was now witnessing a meaningless quarrel between the two parties, each racing to claim that certain projects were the result of their own efforts.

“However, the real question is not who implemented the projects, but who actually received the people’s mandate to govern Sabah? The answer is simple: neither GRS nor Warisan ever obtained the people’s mandate.

“The Warisan government was not formed through the people’s votes, but through the defection of six state assemblymen, a betrayal of democratic principles.

“As for GRS, it was not born from a people’s mandate but from political maneuvering after Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) withdrew support for its chairman. It was not a show of people’s strength, but an alliance of personal interests to stay in power,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

Awang added that after years of holding power without a proper mandate, both parties were still busy arguing over who deserved more credit, while the people continued to suffer.

“Roads are damaged, water and electricity supplies are unstable and the cost of living keeps rising yet they are more eager to claim their names on project signboards than to fulfill their responsibilities to the people.

“This is the politics of a ‘government without mandate’ loud in the media but paralysed on the ground. Both compete to be seen as saviors, yet both have failed to save the trust of Sabahans,” he said.

He said BN does not need to imitate such political behavior because during its administration, development was not just a slogan but a tangible result of the people’s genuine mandate.

“BN was not born out of defections, does not survive on the mercy of temporary coalitions and does not use projects as propaganda tools.

“Sabah needs leadership that dares to return to the true essence of democracy, a government born of the people’s mandate, not narrow political maneuvering.

“In the end, GRS and Warisan may continue fighting over whose name appears on project signboards, but what remains in the hearts of the people is who truly fulfilled their trust and history has proven that only BN has ever done so,” he said.