UMNO info chief Azalina says voters must choose candidates who represent their aspirations and are not prone to party-hopping in the Sabah polls.
KOTA KINABALU: UMNO information chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said has urged voters in the Sabah state election to make a wiser assessment by choosing candidates who truly represent their aspirations and are free from the risk of party-hopping.
She said the increase in the number of contesting parties makes this imperative.
“The primary responsibility of every candidate is to provide the best service to the people, in line with the spirit of the Anti-Party Hopping Act,” she said.
Azalina, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), stated that service is a priority because voters must know their elected representative starts working immediately after being voted in.
“If voters choose a representative with the potential to jump parties, or one who only appears during election season, that will be difficult for the people,” she told reporters after inspecting the ‘Justice on Wheels’ legal aid clinic programme at the Tuaran Public Market.
She also emphasised that any elected state government must maintain strong relations and close cooperation with the federal government.
Azalina explained that Malaysia was built on the concept of a federation, requiring continuous discussions between both government levels for effective policy implementation and state development.
“No state government can operate solo because even opposition-led states still attend the Menteri Besar and Chief Ministers’ meetings every month,” she said.
She noted that despite parties campaigning on ‘Sabah for Sabahans’ ideology, they cannot escape Sabah’s relationship with the federal government.
