Rally behind BN for continued devt

PENAMPANG, Oct 30 (New Sabah Times) --- Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan yesterday opened the joint annual meetings of the party’s youth and women’s wings here with a call to the people of Sabah to rally behind the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election to ensure continued development.

He said the BN, under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, had shown its full commitment and capability in championing the cause of the people.

“The present government’s noble intention is to develop this nation and deliver the goods to the people as can be seen in the big allocation for development under the Ninth Malaysia Plan and the 2008 Budget.

“Of course, this is in tandem with the aspirations of the PBS to champion the rights of the people. We are aware of the BN government’s sincerity in bringing about development for the benefit of the people,” he said.

In this respect, Pairin, who is a deputy chief minister, urged the people not to be hoodwinked by the sweet talk of the opposition parties which he said continued to harp on stale issues in their desperation to win over the hearts of the people.

“Now, we are entering a new chapter in politics. Let bygones be bygones. Let us be united to develop our nation. There might be some weaknesses here and there but the government is obviously trying its level best to meet the expectations of the people,” he said.

Pairin, who is also the “Huguan Siou” or paramount leader of the Kadazandusun community, was confident the BN would secure a convincing victory in the next general election.

The PBS holds four parliamentary and 13 state seats in the Sabah state legislative assembly.

The PBS Youth and Wanita meetings were held at the Hongkod Koisaan Hall. The PBS Congress is scheduled for Nov 11 and is expected to be opened by Abdullah, who is also the BN chairman.