Sabah lost a leader who was very dedicated and always concerned about Sabah affairs with the passing of Tan Sri Thomas Jayasuriya, said former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh.
“Thomas was like an elder brother to me, who helped and advised me when I was Chief Minister during the Berjaya Government.
“He was very dedicated and was always concerned about Sabah affairs,” he said in expressing his condolences to Jayasuriya’s family on Monday
Hajiji’s speech last Saturday can be considered a political one in view of the audience. However, it is the first time that a major political leader has exhibited considerable statesmanship to bring Sabah forward. Clearly can be discerned are
[a] New political and economic directions for Sabah
[b] A new way of looking at Sabah’s problems and seeking innovative solutions.
[c] A new realignment of federal/state relationship.
[d] A Hajiji style of inclusiveness, unity personified in “we are Sabahans, we can talk, we can sort things out in Sabah,” – No longer “let’s seek KL’s approval”.
[e] Above all, Hajiji is being realistic/pragmatic in his endeavour to tackle Sabah’s decades old economic problems.
Below are some quotes from Hajiji to illustrate his new direction and hopes for Sabah
IN the middle of last month, all of a sudden the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) was accepted into Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), a coalition of the State’s governing parties including PBS but excluding Umno and its BN partners.
I say all of a sudden because in the waiting list are three other Sabah political parties – KDM, LDP and PCS. But only Usno was accepted
A current hot topic is the proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution to make party-hopping illegal. It was supposed to have been tabled and passed in Parliament a month or two ago. But what kept it on hold is the fine-tuning.
For example, if a law maker is sacked by his/her party, can that be considered as party-hopping? It is not my intention to comment on whether the proposed law is good or bad. I leave that to the politicians and readers