Cordial Sabah-federal ties crucial in developing Sabah: Musa
NABAWAN: Cordial ties between the state government and federal government are crucial to ensure the process of development in Sabah run smoothly, said Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.
He said such relations also facilitated discussions and planning on the needs of the people in Sabah as well as the channelling of provisions from the federal government on the basis of limited state financial resources.
He cited the application for a federal provision of RM250 million for road construction to areas of the Sejahtera mini estates throughout Sabah, which was easily approved due to the good ties.
"I met the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak) and told him that the road to the mini estates requires a large sum of money ... this provision is for the people facing hardship and those who have just bought land.
"When he (Najib) heard that it was for the poor, for the people, he (Najib) said, ok Musa I will try to look for the money. Less than a week, I received news from the Finance Ministry that the money for Sabah is channelled through the Rural and Regional Development Ministry," he said.
Musa was speaking at a meet-the-people session at the Nabawan Town Square in Pensiangan here in conjunction with the working visit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to the district today.
He said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government under the leadership of Najib as prime minister had never disappointed with allocations continued being channelled to Sabah to develop the state.
"This is what the people want, a leader, a prime minister who listens to the voice of the people and leaders of Sabah," he said.
He described the huge allocations channelled to Sabah for the implementation of high impact mega projects for the people such as the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway and allocation of RM1 billion to repair dilapidated schools as extraordinary and unprecedented under Najib's leadership.
"No previous prime ministers had dare to allocate as much funding as Najib. This is not a flattery. It is a fact," he said, adding that the people of Sabah knew how to repay the federal government by continuing to support the BN government in the coming general election. — Bernama