FMT:
Chinese voters did not reject GRS in Sabah state polls, says Armizan
The GRS deputy secretary-general says claims of Chinese voter rejection seem to ignore where the coalition had contested
GRS deputy secretary-general Armizan Mohd Ali said election results should be taken constructively, as they indicate areas that need improvement, to rebuild public confidence.
PETALING JAYA: Claims that the Chinese community rejected Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in the recent state election are misleading, says its deputy secretary-general Armizan Mohd Ali.
He cited GRS’s long struggle in the Bandar polling district under the Pantai Manis state seat, in his Papar parliamentary constituency, to explain why such claims are inaccurate, Sinar Harian reported.
“Historically, the district has always had a Chinese majority voter base.
“In the recent state election, these Chinese-majority areas in Pantai Manis were finally won by the GRS candidate after seven previous (failed) attempts,” he was quoted as saying in an event in Papar.
He said it was therefore inaccurate to generalise that the Chinese community as a whole had rejected GRS or its allies.
“What happened is that in certain areas, our allies, particularly Pakatan Harapan (PH) and DAP, were defeated,” he said.
The Nov 29 Sabah state election saw PH winning just one of the 22 seats it contested, Melalap, which was captured by Jamawi Jaafar of PKR. He was one of 13 candidates from the PH component.
Meanwhile, Sabah DAP lost in all eight Chinese-majority seats it contested, including six it had held since the 2020 state election, and Amanah lost in the one seat it contested. GRS, on the other hand, won 29 seats.
However, Armizan stressed that election results should be taken constructively, as they provide signals for areas that need improvement to rebuild public confidence.
He said that GRS is conducting a “post mortem” to identify issues related to this matter and to ensure its manifesto commitments are fulfilled.
“We need to accept and respect the outcome and identify what can be improved. The election is over, and the government has been formed, with GRS as the core of Sabah’s administration.
“We are the government for all Sabahans, not just for those who voted for us. Whether they support us or not is their democratic right, but once the government is formed, we serve everyone,” he said.
He cited GRS’s long struggle in the Bandar polling district under the Pantai Manis state seat, in his Papar parliamentary constituency, to explain why such claims are inaccurate, Sinar Harian reported.
“Historically, the district has always had a Chinese majority voter base.
“In the recent state election, these Chinese-majority areas in Pantai Manis were finally won by the GRS candidate after seven previous (failed) attempts,” he was quoted as saying in an event in Papar.
He said it was therefore inaccurate to generalise that the Chinese community as a whole had rejected GRS or its allies.
“What happened is that in certain areas, our allies, particularly Pakatan Harapan (PH) and DAP, were defeated,” he said.
The Nov 29 Sabah state election saw PH winning just one of the 22 seats it contested, Melalap, which was captured by Jamawi Jaafar of PKR. He was one of 13 candidates from the PH component.
Meanwhile, Sabah DAP lost in all eight Chinese-majority seats it contested, including six it had held since the 2020 state election, and Amanah lost in the one seat it contested. GRS, on the other hand, won 29 seats.
However, Armizan stressed that election results should be taken constructively, as they provide signals for areas that need improvement to rebuild public confidence.
He said that GRS is conducting a “post mortem” to identify issues related to this matter and to ensure its manifesto commitments are fulfilled.
“We need to accept and respect the outcome and identify what can be improved. The election is over, and the government has been formed, with GRS as the core of Sabah’s administration.
“We are the government for all Sabahans, not just for those who voted for us. Whether they support us or not is their democratic right, but once the government is formed, we serve everyone,” he said.
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