Fielding the press: Bung Moktar speaking during a media conference at the Sabah Umno headquarters in Kota Kinabalu. Flanking him are Sabah Umno deputy communications chairman Datuk Yakub Khan (left) and Salleh. — Bernama
KOTA KINABALU: The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-Barisan Nasional government has lost its majority in the state government.
Barisan with its 18 assemblymen – all from Umno – has pulled out from the 27-month-old coalition government.
The move is set to trigger a race for a simple majority of 40 seats in the 79-member state assembly, failing which Sabah may be forced to have a snap state election.
Sabah Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin announced the decision after chairing a two-hour meeting at the Sabah Umno headquarters here last night.
“We have lost confidence in Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as Chief Minister. He has lost his locus standi to remain as CM after he quit Bersatu to become a direct member of GRS (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah),” he told reporters.
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Bung Moktar said the understanding was that Barisan would give its backing to Hajiji as Chief Minister who, in return, would appoint its assemblymen as ministers and heads of state-owned government-linked companies.
The basis of cooperation under the loose umbrella of GRS was done between Sabah Barisan, Perikatan Nasional and Parti Bersatu Sabah following the 2020 snap state election when they defeated Parti Warisan and Pakatan Harapan.
Hajiji was backed as the Chief Minister as he was Sabah Bersatu chairman under Perikatan, he said.
“When he decided to ditch Bersatu (on Dec 8), the whole cooperation ended,” he added.
Furthermore, he said, Hajiji and GRS had breached the cooperation with Barisan by sacking Sabah Umno’s Usukan assemblyman Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak as chairman of state investment arm Qhazanah Sabah Bhd.
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“Due to the breach of the political understanding, Sabah Umno has decided that all its 18 assemblymen (including then Parti Bangsa Malaysia’s Segama assemblyman Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi) will withdraw their support and declare we have lost confidence in Hajiji as Chief Minister,” said Bung Moktar.
In referring to Article 6(3) and Article 6(7) of the Sabah constitution, he accused Hajiji of misleading the people and the Registrar of Societies in saying that he was a direct GRS member.
“This was against the state constitution which requires the Chief Minister to be from a party with the highest majority in the state assembly. We are asking the Sabah’s head of state to look into his position as Chief Minister and the legality of it, per the constitution,” he said.
Bung Moktar also claimed that Hajiji did not discuss his plan, as required under the cooperation between GRS and Sabah Barisan, for a Cabinet reshuffle.
He stressed that the decision to pull out involved 18 assemblymen including Mohamaddin.
However, he admitted that at least five of his assemblymen have yet to support the move, although he chose not to name them.
“But we are still talking to them as this is a decision involving the party and not the individual,” he said, in an apparent reference to the five that included a state minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya who is an assemblyman as well as an MP.
He said the party would not hesitate to take action against the five if they did not fall in line.
GRS has 29 assemblymen which include 15 direct GRS members (formerly from Bersatu), seven from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Sabah STAR (six) and one from Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).
Prior to the announcement, Barisan, with its 17 assemblymen, gave the GRS-Barisan state government a command of 46 seats in the state assembly.
It is understood that Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) which has three seats, as well as PAS, Parti Bangsa Malaysia, each with one assemblyman, and one Independent representative, were also “friendly” to the state government.
This means that Hajiji, prior to this, had the support of 53 assemblymen in the state assembly.
In the Opposition bench, Parti Warisan has 19 assemblymen while Sabah Pakatan has seven, comprising four from DAP, two from PKR and one from Upko.
Last night’s announcement came barely 36 hours after Warisan called a press conference that sparked speculation about a move to unseat the state government led by Hajiji.
Barisan is expected to team up with Warisan and other smaller parties to make a bid to form the next state government.
GRS could also possibly team up with Sabah Pakatan’s seven state representatives and other splinter parties and Independents.
