Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said claims that assemblymen were bought or bribed to cross the floor and pledge support for him were baseless.
“We vehemently deny the accusations, especially by the Parti Warisan President (Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal), that they (the assemblymen) were bought or bribed.
“That is not true. You can ask the representatives who crossed over to support the current government.
“They support because they believe they need to support the Government for the benefit of Sabah,” he said when met after the inaugural Duang Festival at the Sabah Rumpun Bajausama Cultural Centre, here, Sunday.
Last week, eight assemblymen from Umno and Parti Warisan joined Hajiji’s Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah and three Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) assemblymen pledged their support for Hajiji.
As for the KDM’s pledge of support, Hajiji said the party’s intention was to strengthen the Government.
Hajiji, who now leads Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah and its allies, has the support of slightly over two-thirds of the 79-member State Assembly following defections of opposition assemblymen from Barisan and Warisan following a failed attempt to unseat him as the Chief Minister.
On whether Sabah would table the anti-party hopping law, Hajiji said he would discuss the matter with the State Cabinet.
Meanwhile, the Sabah Government has set seven priorities to be implemented for the State’s cultural development, which has been taking place since 2021 and will continue until 2030.
Hajiji said the seven priorities were digitalisation of art and culture, or eCulture; integrated cultural tourism; cultural preservation; strengthening of ethnic relations; cultural research and documentation; cultural arts development; and intellectual property protection.
“These seven priorities are in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya initiative in the cultural development of various ethnicities in Sabah, and that role is the responsibility of the Sabah Cultural Board (LKNS).
“We want, through these seven priorities, all cultural bodies and communities to develop together, to appreciate and further embody the cultural values they inherit (from previous generations), and to hand them over to future generations,” he said.
He said under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), the Government has approved four high-impact projects with an allocation of RM4.5 million, including the Cultural Mapping Project 2021-2025 and the Sabah Cultural Development Plan 2020-2030.
“Apart from that, the project to improve the cultural tourism products of the Murut Sabah Cultural Centre in Tenom and the project to improve the infrastructure of the Sabah Cultural Centre in Penampang are in the implementation process,” he said.
Hajiji said the Sabah Government allocated RM9.5 million to LKNS in the State 2023 Budget, to implement various programmes to preserve the State’s ethnic, cultural and artistic wealth and heritage, including the Cultural Pit-Stop, which is designed to empower the culture-based tourism industry, with two new locations in Kota Belud and Tawau.
In this regard, Hajiji called on all community leaders, state government departments and agencies, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and all levels of society in Sabah to continue to empower and preserve the nation’s traditional arts, culture and customs to the best of their ability.
“We feel proud as in Sabah, we have 35 main ethnic groups and 217 sub-ethnicities, with all of them having their own cultures and languages,” he said.
Regarding the festival, Hajiji, who is also the Sabah Rumpun Bajausama Association President, said the Duang Festival, which was held for the first time, could serve as a platform to highlight the culture and traditions of Sabah’s ethnic diversity to visitors and the younger generation.
“This festival will be organised in February every year and has been included in the State tourism calendar. I believe this festival can raise the name of the Tuaran district as an attractive tourist destination.
“Apart from the Rumpun Bajausama Sabah Cultural Centre, Tuaran also has many interesting places, including Tembara River Cruise, Crocodile Park and Linangkit Cultural Village, and many more in the Tamparuli and Kiulu districts,” he said.
— EDITOR