A GRS official pushed back on the idea that Chinese voters completely ditched them. Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, a deputy secretary-general for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, said the narrative of a total swing was not fully accurate. He acknowledged those discussions, noting his coalition saw the voting trends. He pointed out that GRS did not actually run in most Chinese-majority seats, leaving that to their Pakatan Harapan partners.
The guy used Pantai Manis in Papar as a case study. A specific district there, PDM Bandar, has a large Chinese electorate and historically voted against his party. He admitted they lost that area for over five elections straight, including his own past race, where support only slightly grew. The recent state election, however, saw a GRS candidate finally win the wider Pantai Manis seat. He argued this shows the situation is more nuanced than a blanket rejection, suggesting some losses for partners like DAP should be seen as a signal for the coalition to do better.
Armizan stated the election is over and the government now works for all Sabahans, regardless of who they voted for. He said they are doing a post-mortem on the results to address community concerns. Their main job, he added, is delivering on promises and rolling out a development plan called Sabah Maju Jaya 2.0. He warned that there is no time for a long honeymoon period, pressing the state administration to speed up presenting that roadmap for the coming years.
The guy used Pantai Manis in Papar as a case study. A specific district there, PDM Bandar, has a large Chinese electorate and historically voted against his party. He admitted they lost that area for over five elections straight, including his own past race, where support only slightly grew. The recent state election, however, saw a GRS candidate finally win the wider Pantai Manis seat. He argued this shows the situation is more nuanced than a blanket rejection, suggesting some losses for partners like DAP should be seen as a signal for the coalition to do better.
Armizan stated the election is over and the government now works for all Sabahans, regardless of who they voted for. He said they are doing a post-mortem on the results to address community concerns. Their main job, he added, is delivering on promises and rolling out a development plan called Sabah Maju Jaya 2.0. He warned that there is no time for a long honeymoon period, pressing the state administration to speed up presenting that roadmap for the coming years.
