“There should be no grudges in politics. The most important thing should be safeguarding the interests of the people and the state,” he said.

“GRS leaders are focused on the unity of the people and developing the state.

“This will lead to an increase in economic activities and directly benefit the people.”

Hajiji was speaking to the media after launching a Malaysia Madani seminar at the Sabah International Convention Centre here today.

He was also asked to comment on whether he was ready to cooperate with other parties in developing Sabah through a unity government.

Last month, Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chief Bung Moktar Radin announced that the coalition was withdrawing its support for Hajiji as part of a bid to oust the GRS chairman from office.

However, Bung’s attempt, which was supported by Warisan, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) and an independent assemblyman, failed after Hajiji proved he had the support of the majority of the assemblymen in the state.

Hajiji has since welcomed the support BN has extended to him as chief minister. On Sunday, BN secretary-general Zambry Abd Kadir had also issued a statement backing the Hajiji-led state government.

“That’s good (referring to the statement) as it means that the state government will grow stronger under the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim,” he said.

Hajiji added that there had been no discussions between GRS and Sabah BN so far on state-related matters.