GRS denies declaring war on BN by supporting Perikatan

KOTA KINABALU – GRS has strongly denied that it has in any way declared war on Barisan Nasional (BN) by deciding to cooperate with Perikatan Nasional (PN) following the conclusion of the 15th general election.

Its chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, in a statement today, refuted Sabah BN chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin’s description of the move as a declaration of war as it had broken the GRS-BN electoral agreement to support BN after the polls.

He said that he has never declared war on BN, and in fact, had gone to the ground to help the election campaigns of BN candidates in their constituencies.

Hajiji, who is Sabah chief minister, clarified that the agreement before the general election between GRS and BN was that GRS would support Umno and BN if they qualified to form the government and assume the prime minister’s office.

.“But when BN lost and Umno was not qualified to become prime minister, then the deal became no longer valid.

“It must be stressed that (GRS) has never made any deal with other parties, including PH, before the election,” he said.

Hajiji also denied that he was present when Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin met Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat MP Datuk Wetrom Bahanda and independent MP Datuk Verdon Bahanda at his residence in Kuala Lumpur.

“They met Tan Sri (Muhyiddin) based on their own will, and I was not at all involved in the meeting,” he said.

Hajiji said he hopes Umno-BN will continue to cooperate in governing Sabah, in line with the mandate given by the Sabahan people to the GRS-BN government in the last state election in 2020.

Bung had yesterday vowed consequences for GRS-BN cooperation in Sabah.

“He has declared war on us. Hajiji did not call me or discuss with me about GRS support for Perikatan,” he said.

Under the current pact between GRS and BN in Sabah, Hajiji is the chief minister and Bung is a deputy chief minister. – The Vibes, November 22, 2022