KOTA KINABALU – After 14 days of campaigning to woo the 1.12 million voters in the 16th state election, today will be the day of reckoning for the lawmakers, when the electorates in the Land Below the Wind will determine the worthy candidates to lead the state government for the next five years.
Promises were repeated, hopes were given and appeals were made by 447 candidates from two major coalitions (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Warisan Plus) and eight other parties, who are vying for the 73 seats up for grabs to cajole voters from all walks of life in the two-week period.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman, while campaigning yesterday in Tambunan, about 80 kilometres from here, reminded the people of Sabah that the state needed to be developed to be on par with other states in the country.
It could only be done if the state government was going in the same direction with Putrajaya, he said, adding that the federal government was also committed in addressing issues related to Sabah including the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Sabah Bersatu chief Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said voters should make use of this opportunity to elect the government that was capable in administrating the state and bring various benefits as well as developments to the people.
Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Bung Mokhtar Radin, the man leading the Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) wanted voters particularly among the young to always act rationally and keep their emotions in check in making the crucial decision that would determine the future of the state and the nation.
Addressing a media conference, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali said stern actions would be taken against anyone who violated the rules, including provocations that may caused chaos on polling day.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in his tweet also appealed to those involved in the state election regardless of their status and positions in the community, to adhere to the standard operating procedures set to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— BERNAMA
