Members of the Sabah press waiting for the Warisan press conference to start.
KOTA KINABALU: A special press conference has been called by Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal amid speculation that there is a movement to topple the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The press conference was scheduled for 4.30pm at a resort here, but the media is still waiting for it to start even as late as 5.45pm Thursday (Jan 5).
Speculation is that Sabah Barisan Nasional led by Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who is also a Deputy Chief Minister in the state Cabinet, was pulling its support from the GRS government.
It was said that he will join forces with Warisan and smaller parties to obtain a simple majority - 40 of the 79 seats in the state assembly - to form a government.
Shafie has yet to arrive as of 5.30pm but among those present were Warisan assemblymen including the party’s deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking.
The GRS-Barisan government presently has 46 assemblymen, including six nominated representatives, comprising 29 from GRS itself – seven from PBS, six from Sabah STAR and one from Sabah Progressive Party, plus the 15 GRS direct members, who had quit Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
Barisan has 17 assemblymen.
It is understood that Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), which has three seats, as well as PAS and Parti Bangsa Malaysia with one each, and one independent representative were also friendly to the state government, meaning Hajiji currently has the support of 53 assemblymen.
On the other hand, Parti Warisan led by former chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has 19 seats, while Pakatan has seven – four from DAP, two from PKR and one from Upko.
MORE TO COME
