Harapan Rakyat to hold anniversary celebration, congress on Oct 25-26

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat) will hold its first anniversary celebration and annual Congress on October 25 and 26 at Likas Square here.

Its deputy president, Datuk Maijol Mahap, said the annual general meeting (AGM) of Harapan Rakyat Women, Youth and Young Women movements will be held respectively on October 25 and the joint opening will be officiated by him.

Maijol disclosed that Harapan Rakyat was formed on October 24, 2016 and the party’s first anniversary celebration will be held on October 25.

“On October 26, we will have our first state annual Congress starting from 8 am until 6 pm. We expect about 1,000 delegates and observers from all the party’s divisions to attend the congress.

“Party president, Datuk Seri Panglima Lajim Hj Ukin, will officiate both the anniversary celebration and the Congress. His policy speech is expected to cover various political, social and economic issues that are presently confronting the people of Sabah as well as the party’s commitment to fight for the people’s interest and rights within the federation of Malaysia,” Maijol said.

He disclosed that after the tabling of the annual report by the secretary general and the finance report by the treasurer general, the delegates will go on to debate the policy speech of the president and also on some motions that will be tabled in the Congress.

Among the motions that will be tabled is the change of the party’s logo which will be made to be the same as the party’s flag. The uniformity of the logo and flag is necessary not just to make the logo look dominant but also for easy recognition by the public, he stressed.

The change is necessary to avoid confusion, Maijol said, adding that the matter has been discussed and approved by the Supreme Council, and party members as well as supporters are supportive of the change.

“Besides that, we also want to make ‘HR’ as the acronym name of the party besides the words ‘HARAPAN RAKYAT’ which is already an existing acronym of the party as stated in our party constitution. Our party is a very young party and these are among the domestic adjustments we have to make at this stage.

“The anniversary night and the Congress are something that we are all looking forward to. Having the Congress is not just to fulfill the requirement of the party constitution but above that, it is a forum for the party members at the grassroots level to get involved in the shaping of the party and charting its future. I believe the delegates will not waste this opportunity to get involved actively in the proceedings of the Congress,” he said.

Maijol added that Gabungan Sabah chairman, Datuk Hj Mohd Noor Mansor, and the presidents of the other three parties in the coalition, namely, Datuk Dr. Jeffery Kitingan of STAR, Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee of SAPP and Datuk Seri Arshad Abdul Mualap of PPRS, and some supreme council members will be invited to both to the anniversary celebration and Congress.

“The theme of our Anniversary and Congress is ‘Bersatu Bersama Harapan Rakyat’ (United Together in Harapan Rakyat),” he said, adding that Harapan Rakyat had successfully concluded the annual general meeting (AGM) for all 24 divisions in Sabah, including the division in the Federal Territory of Labuan.