AZMIN Ali steered clear from the Port Dickson by-election controversy, following a warning from Ambiga Sreenevasan of nepotism in Pakatan Harapan.

The PKR deputy president said the issue was now an academic one, as the decision had been made over the matter.

He said it was now time to work hard to retain the crucial Port Dickson parliamentary seat in the upcoming by-election.

“That is the view of Ambiga and the civil societies, but my focus with my colleagues in the party and in Pakatan Harapan is to ensure PH retains the Port Dickson seat.

“So we will mobilise all our machinery from all over the state (Negri Sembilan) to ensure that not only will we retain the seat, but win it with a better majority,” he said following a visit to the Kota Kinabalu police headquarters construction site today.

On another development, the economic affairs minister said further discussion will be made with the Sabah government on matters relating to oil royalty and revenue.

“We will continue the discussion, and I will pay a courtesy call to Chief Minister Shafie Apdal tomorrow morning.

“The federal government is open to ideas on how to best collaborate with the state government in terms of bringing about further development in Sabah,” he said.

Azmin earlier attended a briefing from the Sabah Economic Planning Unit and listened to several matters that need to be dealt with urgently.

He said Putrajaya would look into holistically solving issues like the constant disruption of water supply, electricity, and the lack of amenities.

“I have also been briefed by several agencies on the matter of security, as the question of security is vital to ensure the continuity of Sabah’s booming tourism sector and the state economy,” he said.

Sabah recently had another kidnapping incident in its east coast region, which further raised security concerns in the state. – September 14, 2018.