Hajiji, other Sabah Bersatu leaders quit party

KOTA KINABALU – Gabungan Rakyat Sabah chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor has announced that he and other Sabah Bersatu leaders have called it quits from the party.

In a statement, Hajiji said the decision took into account the advice made by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong on the need for political stability and economic recovery in the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Today, we made the unanimous decision to leave Bersatu. We reached this decision having considered Malaysia’s current political landscape, particularly that of Sabah’s. 

“This unanimous decision is in the interest of Sabah, for the sake of unity and to fulfil the rakyat’s wish and aspiration for us to fight and struggle under the auspices of a local party. 

“With this decision, we will now use GRS to voice Sabah’s interests and that of the Bornean states in Malaysia. We are confident that this decision will be good for political unity and stability in Sabah,” he said.

Moving forward, Hajiji confirmed that the group will form a new local party but will collectively be GRS members in the meantime. 

“We pledge our full support to the unity government and we are confident of Anwar’s leadership and wisdom to lead the country.

“Our Sabah Maju Jaya vision is to ensure Sabah’s economic recovery and that unity among the people prevails. 

“It is our commitment together with Sarawak as the Borneo bloc to voice the people’s aspiration and to see that the Malaysia Agreement or MA63 will be fully implemented,” he said.

The Sabah Bersatu’s leadership’s decision to leave Bersatu, he said, is based on the premise that it is no longer tenable to remain in the status quo. 

“This is because at the federal-level Bersatu is in the opposition, while GRS has pledged support to the unity government led by Anwar.

“Sabah wants political stability and unity. We want to ensure momentum in Sabah’s growth and development and to see that Sabah prospers in accordance with the mandate given to us in the last elections,” he said.

Additionally, Hajiji thanked Bersatu president and Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for his leadership during their tenure as Bersatu members.

GRS won six parliamentary seats in Sabah in the 15th general election (GE15), with four of them contributed by Sabah Bersatu. 

Two Sabah Bersatu MPs have been appointed to the federal cabinet – namely Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Sabah and Sarawak affairs) and Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (deputy tourism, arts, and culture). 

Hajiji’s announcement also means that all 11 assemblymen who were Sabah Bersatu members will now only be GRS members until a new local party is formed.

Most Sabah Bersatu members were former Umno members who had joined the party after BN’s loss in GE14. – The Vibes, December 10, 2022