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Sabah Election Cooperation Under Fire 🐯🗣️📜
KOTA KINABALU, May 17 - Politicians from Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) are getting heat for using the Unity Government Secretariat letterhead to announce their Sabah state election collaboration. It's a move many find inappropriate, as it only involves two coalitions and not the entire Unity Government.
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) deputy secretary-general Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, voice of sensible dissent, reckons it's wrong to use this official letterhead since it only concerns two coalitions. The action by PH's Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Umno's Datuk Wira Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has sparked unwanted political bickering in Sabah, Armizan states.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim have also found themselves drawn into the fray thanks to the seemingly thoughtless decision. Armizan notes that Saifuddin and Asyraf should tread carefully, as their actions have gained media and Sabahan public attention.
"Official letters from the Unity Government Secretariat should only be used when the stance represents an agreement from all party coalitions, not just a subgroup," he firmly stated during a recent Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) media appreciation event.
On May 9, Saifuddin and Asyraf released the BN-PH Sabah state election cooperation announcement using the Unity Government Secretariat letterhead, which proudly displays logos of the Unity Government component parties. This move, Armizan questions, was perhaps made without referring to the Unity Government Leadership Consultative Council.
"Will the Unity Government Secretariat also issue similar statements for the coming Sarawak state elections?" he inquired.
The KPDN minister calls for the Unity Government Leadership Consultative Council secretary-general Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof to ensure such incidents don't happen again. Armizan urges a greater understanding of unique political landscapes in states like Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka, and Johor, all facing state elections, to maintain stability.
"If we hope for harmony, mutual respect must be established," he stresses. - The Borneo Post
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Using the Unity Government Secretariat's official letterhead for political cooperation announcements which do not reflect a full agreement from all parties within the coalition can lead to unconstructive political debates and accusations of hypocrisy. Specifically, the BN-Pakatan electoral pact announcement for the Sabah state elections was criticized for being issued on the Unity Government Secretariat letterhead without involving all parties, potentially leading to political tension, accusations of hypocrisy, and damage to coalition trust [1][2]. It is essential for official unity government letterheads and logos to only be used when all coalition partners fully concur with the matter, to prevent the misrepresentation of the collective stance of the entire coalition [2].
- The use of the Unity Government Secretariat's official letterhead for the BN-PH Sabah state election cooperation announcement was criticized as it did not involve all parties within the coalition, potentially causing political tension, accusations of hypocrisy, and harm to coalition trust.
- Armizan, the deputy secretary-general of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, has urged that official unity government letterheads and logos should only be used when all coalition partners fully agree with the matter, to avoid misrepresenting the collective stance of the entire coalition.
- The seemingly thoughtless decision to use the Unity Government Secretariat letterhead for the BN-PH Sabah state election cooperation announcement has led to unwanted political bickering in Sabah, highlighting the need for a greater understanding of unique political landscapes in states like Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka, and Johor, all facing state elections, to maintain stability.
