KOTA KINABALU: The Change Advocate Movement Sabah (CAMOS) today dismissed Datuk Chin Su Phin’s claim that Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) represents “political maturity,” describing it instead as a coalition born out of convenience, compromise, and fear of losing power.
CAMOS said there is nothing mature about a coalition that was stitched together through political betrayal in 2020 and kept intact by federal patronage rather than the will of the people.
“True political maturity comes from respecting the mandate of voters, upholding principles, and defending Sabah’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 — not from forming coalitions to preserve power,” CAMOS said in a statement today.
The movement said Chin’s praise ignores the reality that under GRS, Sabah remains one of the poorest states in Malaysia, with worsening inequality, rural neglect, and growing discontent among young voters who see no real progress beyond recycled promises and federal-funded projects.
+“Political stability means nothing if it does not deliver justice, jobs, and dignity to the people. The Pan Borneo Highway and rural roads were already federal projects long before GRS existed — to claim them as symbols of GRS’s success is misleading,” CAMOS added.
CAMOS further noted that under Hajiji Noor’s administration, Sabah’s autonomy has been steadily eroded as the Chief Minister continues to align himself with Putrajaya’s interests instead of asserting the state’s constitutional rights — including Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement under Article 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution.
“If this is the so-called ‘new political maturity,’ it is a maturity of submission, not sovereignty,” CAMOS said.
CAMOS urged voters to look beyond GRS’s rhetoric of “stability” and recognise that genuine stability can only come from a government that stands on the side of the people — not one that survives on political deals and federal handouts.
