KOTA KINABALU: Opposition Parti Warisan's Petagas assemblyman Datuk Awang Ahmad Sah Sahari has announced that he is quitting the party to support Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
On Monday (Feb 27), Awang Ahmad became the 10th Warisan assemblyman to quit after the September 2020 Sabah snap state election where it won 23 seats, becoming the single largest party in the 79-member state assembly.
The 63-year-old Warisan treasurer and Putatan division chief said he and most of his committee members will join Hajiji's Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) as he wanted to see stability and development in the interest of the people.
He said most of the leaders including the Wanita and Youth chiefs in the Putatan division were following him into Gagasan Rakyat, and claimed that the Warisan Putatan division had now collapsed.
He noted that his decision would benefit the people and it was also to fulfil their aspirations.
“We are doing this for the people,” he said to loud applause from his supporters during a press conference at a hotel here. "It is not an easy decision but I have to think of the voters and help them."
Awang Ahmad said he had met Hajiji twice in recent weeks and received an assurance that Gagasan Rakyat would accommodate his members in the Petagas and Tanjung Aru state constituencies, part of the Putatan parliamentary seat.
He stressed that he needed to leave Warisan to help his constituents and among his plans was to tackle flooding in some villages.
He said he never asked Hajiji for anything and wanted to know his plans for Sabah.
Awang Ahmad thanked Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal and said he did not want to say anything negative about the party.
The other assemblymen who quit Warisan to join Gagasan Rakyat are Hassan Gani Amir (Sebatik), Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob (Sindumin), Norazlinah Arif (Kunak), Datuk Mohammad Mohamarin (Banggi) and Ben Chong Chen Bin (Tanjong Kapor).
Two other assemblymen, Datuk Peter Anthony (Melalap) and Datuk Juil Nuatim (Limbahau), formed the new Parti KDM.
Kukusan assemblyman Rina Jainal joined Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat ); while Segama assemblyman Datuk Mohammadin Ketapi appeared to stay with Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) after briefly appearing in support of Sabah Umno in January.
Sabah Umno, which withdrew support for the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government on Jan 6 in a failed bid to topple Hajiji, also saw four of its assemblymen – Datuk James Ratib (Sugut), Datuk Jasnih Daya (Pantai Dalit), Datuk Arshad Bistari (Tempasuk) and Datuk Hamid Awang (Balung) – joining Gagasan Rakyat.
The exodus of Warisan and Barisan-Umno assemblymen has boosted Hajiji's standing.
GRS now controls more than two-thirds of the 79-seat state assembly through the support of friendly parties including Pakatan Harapan, Parti KDM and Sabah Barisan-Umno renegades.
