Kota kinabalu: Barisan Nasional (BN) will launch its manifesto for the 17th Sabah State Election today, highlighting the Sabah Development Plan 1 (RPS1) as the core of the coalition’s agenda. The manifesto launch will be officiated by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also BN Chairman, at the UMNO Sabah Building at 8.30 am.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Sabah BN chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin will present the manifesto. In a Facebook post, Ahmad Zahid said BN offers a clear, structured, and realistic roadmap for Sabah’s future under the vision of ‘Sabah Membangun Bersama’ (Developing Sabah Together). ‘With the united effort of our entire machinery, we will ensure every plan is translated into actions that directly benefit the people. This is the time to restore confidence and put Sabah on the true path of development. For the people, for Sabah,’ he wrote.

BN is contesting 45 of the 73 state assembly seats in the state polls this year, with 81 per cent of candidates being
new faces, nearly half of whom are young professionals. Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is scheduled to launch its manifesto tomorrow. Last Monday, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) unveiled its manifesto, built upon the central vision of ‘Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga’, framed by the theme of driving a progressive Sabah and an advancing society, while Perikatan Nasional (PN) launched its manifesto, themed ‘Kasi Bagus Sabah’ in Putatan, yesterday.

The Election Commission (EC) has set Nov 29 as the polling day, with early voting on Nov 25. According to the EC statistics, a total of 1,784,843 voters are eligible to exercise their democratic right in this election. They consist of 1,760,417 ordinary voters, 11,697 military personnel and their spouses, and 12,729 police personnel and their spouses.