Ceasar Mandela Malakun
PENAMPANG: Sabahans do not forget how the Warisan-led government almost destroyed the State’s economy, shrinking Sabah’s GDP from a high of 8.2 per cent in 2017 to -9.2 per cent in 2020.
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Penampang Youth Chief Ceasar Mandela Malakun said Sabahans suffered because of the economic slowdown.
“This is why the people chose to oust Warisan and their partners Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 2020 Sabah election.
“Sabahans saved the State by voting for leaders whom they know can turn the economy around.
“And what a choice it was because in only 15 months, the GRS-BN State Government managed to get Sabah’s economy back on track. Last year, after a continuous economic downtrend during the Warisan government, Sabah managed to bring its GDP back in the green at 1.1 per cent,” said the Political Secretary to the Chief Minister in a statement today.
Mandela said Warisan President Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal can argue all day that it is not his fault that Sabah’s economy declined tremendously in 2020 because the whole nation also suffered from negative GDP.
However, he (Mohd Shafie) forgot to mention, that of all the states in Malaysia, Sabah’s record was the worst.
“Even Kelantan recorded only -1.2 per cent GDP growth. Sabah’s GDP was way worse than the national average of -5.5 per cent,” he said.
“The fact that the current State Government managed to resuscitate the economy to 1.1 per cent GDP growth last year was nothing short of a miracle.
“But of course, Mohd Shafie will ignore these economic indicators and instead focus on things like Sabah Foundation gave scholarships to students as if it only started in 2018 during Warisan’s time in office.”
Mandela said it is important for the people to know about Sabah’s GDP growth because it is the most important indication of the health of Sabah’s economy.
“The 2023 recession warnings are already coming in thick and fast. Our best chance for Sabah is to hope that we have a government that knows how to soften the blow. We need leaders with vision on where they want to lead Sabah.
“The current Sabah Government has this vision already in place through its Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya development plan. Under the plan, a total of 584 initiatives covering 304 core initiatives and 280 enablers have been drafted for implementation since 2021.
“The sheer number of initiatives in the hala tuju is staggering and surely, the Government will continue to add to them depending on the progress of the masterplan,” he said.
He said the opposition can continue to play politics, it seems to be the only thing they are good at because they have proven how lousy they can be when it comes to actual governing.
“Under the GRS-BN Government, Sabah is back on track. Sabah’s revenue hit a record breaking RM5.449 billion in 2021 and this year will be another milestone for Sabah as our state revenue is projected to surpass RM6 billion.
“But the job is far from finished. There are still many things that need to be done for the good of Sabah and its people. The only thing we need now is your support, your vote so that the SMJ Development Plan 1.0 (2021-2025) can be fully implemented,” said Mandela.
