KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA: More leg work and less politicking. That was the consensus made by the Sabah Barisan Nasional Youth movement to strenghten the coalition and stave off any threats by the opposition.

National BN Youth secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan yesterday said it was time for the coalition in Sabah to show its real strength by delivering its promise to the people.

"We won 59 state and 24 parliamentary seats.

"This is the time for us to reach out to the people and show them what we can do for them instead of worrying about the opposition with their empty promises.

"The approach, however, will be different this time around as we will emphasise our efforts at micro level instead of going for big events.

"If before we went for events by gathering 100,000 people, which would have been less meaningful for a majority of them, now we go for a small event at kampung level that would be more meaningful for everyone there."

Abdul Rahman said it would come with a lot of leg work though but noted the BN coalition was in no position to take matters for granted now as the opposition had gained a foothold in the state and if not countered it could face a similar wave of change like what had happened in the peninsula.

"We need to strengthen the coalition and that will depend on how we perform or deliver."

The movement would also follow up the requests made by Sabah BN leaders when they met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi earlier last month.

"These are the issues raised by the voices of the people through the various components and most of them are similar.

"The illegal immigrants issue, for instance, economic imbalance and price hikes."