[UPDATED] Crisis in Sabah: is Hajiji’s govt on the brink of collapse?

KOTA KINABALU – Sabah is likely heading toward a political crisis as speculation is rife that Warisan and Barisan Nasional (BN) are teaming up to oust Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) from power, said party insiders.

Warisan and Sabah Umno are expected to announce their political cooperation later, pushing the ruling GRS-BN alliance to the brink of collapse, a source revealed.

Currently, Warisan has 19 state seats and Barisan Nasional has support from 15 assemblymen, even though the coalition only has 14 seats, but this is not enough to form a simple-majority government, the source said.

Sabah has a total of 73 state seats, of which GRS holds 29. The rest are occupied by Pakatan Harapan (PH) and independents.

“(Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor’s) administration will be on the brink of collapse. With this, PH will be the kingmaker with its seven assemblymen.”

The source said PH currently faces a dilemma in deciding which bloc to support, as the involved parties – Warisan, BN and GRS – are also partners in the federal unity government.

He added that if PH supports GRS, it may be counter to its supporters’ wishes, while backing Warisan is akin to supporting a backdoor government.

“Sadly, we fight at the state level, and this makes it hard for us to choose. All of them supported Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.”

The source said the seven PH assemblymen so far have not indicated their support nor signed any statutory declarations backing anyone.

He added that PH does not want a Sheraton Move to happen in Sabah as it should be based on formalised discussions between all groups.

Let GRS finish term, urges info chief

Meanwhile, GRS information chief Datuk Joniston Bangkuai has urged any factions aspiring to take over the Sabah government to wait until the next state election to determine if they have the people’s support.

“Why hatch a plot to unseat the state government at a time when our focus should be to hasten and intensify efforts to develop the state?” he said at a meet-the-people programme in remote Kg Romokon near Kiulu in Tuaran district. 

The Kiulu assemblyman shared his belief that the majority of Sabahans are against any plot or action to unseat the current government.

“Lest we forget the result of the 16th state election in 2020, in which the party that unseated the already installed state government through defection was rejected,” he said, without elaborating.

Bangkuai was responding to the villagers’ concerns on constant talk of moves by certain quarters to topple the state government.

“Let’s not disrupt the good and productive work the current state government is doing,” said Bangkuai.

“It is regrettable that certain quarters appear to never cease to undermine the state government led by Hajiji,” he added. 

Hajiji is also the chairman of GRS. On December 10, he had announced that he and several other state assemblymen had resigned from Bersatu, a component of GRS, and would continue in the coalition in individual capacities.

Bangkuai stressed that any move that can bring about political instability in Sabah should be avoided, and told all concerned to focus on strengthening unity.

Under Hajiji’s able leadership, he stressed, the state has seen tremendous growth, including recording the highest state revenue ever of RM6.6 billion in 2022, among others.

In addition, the annual allocation for state assembly reps this year has been increased to RM3 million, with RM2.5 million set aside for small projects and RM500,000 for touch-point programmes.

On Wednesday, GRS secretary-general Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun had addressed rumours that a certain group is plotting to form a new state government, stressing that Hajiji still garners majority support to remain as chief minister.

Warisan is expected to hold a press conference where it is rumoured to have formed a pact with Barisan Nasional to push GRS out of power. – The Vibes, January 5, 2022