Pejuang officially launched in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today announced the party's official formation in Sabah.

He said the party's launch in Sabah had been planned for a long time but could only be implemented today due to many constraints.

"I hope Pejuang can be accepted by the people of Sabah because it can make Sabah more progressive," he told reporters after the launch here today.

Asked about cooperation with other parties, Mahathir who is the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) pro tem chairman, said that a lot of evaluation needed to be done to cooperate with other parties.

"We want a party that is clean and has no problems... such as its leader still facing charges in court," he said.

Regarding cooperation with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), he said that if the coalition wants to cooperate with GTA, it will consider the matter.

Meanwhile, when asked about the GTA manifesto, Mahathir said it would be announced soon.

"The manifesto is not a holy book... sometimes we want to do (what is in the manifesto) but we cannot implement it. Therefore, GTA will come up with a manifesto that can be implemented.

"The manifesto cannot be about abolishing tolls... we can't abolish tolls because the government has no money to maintain the roads. All the money is just to pay off debts," he added.

Earlier, Mahathir was welcomed by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor upon arrival at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) this afternoon.

Commenting on the matter, Mahathir said no specific discussions were held with Hajiji, who is also the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman.

"We only spoke about the development of Sabah," he replied briefly.

GTA comprises Pejuang, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (IMAN) and a coalition of non-governmental organisations that form Gagaan Bangsa (GB).

-- BERNAMA