PETALING JAYA: Former Sabah Bersatu leaders and elected representatives are set to join an existing, lesser-known party in the state after announcing their departure from Bersatu, says a source.
The source told FMT that the ex-Bersatu assemblymen and MPs will be joining Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), a local party first registered in 2013.
PGRS had contested for 28 state assembly seats in the September 2020 Sabah elections, but lost in all of them.
On Thursday, Sabah Bersatu elected representatives held a meeting, with prominent state leaders present, to discuss the matter. Pictures of the meeting had been posted on social media but were swiftly removed.
Yesterday, GRS chairman and Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor said that he and other Sabah Bersatu leaders would leave the party. He added that they would form a new local party.
Hajiji said that their “unanimous decision” to leave the party was based on the premise that the status quo is “no longer tenable”.
He added that the exit from Bersatu was being done for the sake of unity and to fulfill the rakyat’s wish for them to maintain the struggle for Sabah’s future under the auspices of a local party.
Bersatu is a member of Perikatan Nasional (PN) while its Sabah chapter is a component of GRS, which governs the state in an alliance with Barisan Nasional (BN).
GRS has pledged support for Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government but Bersatu and PN form the parliamentary opposition.
Previously, GRS had repeatedly backed Muhyiddin as prime minister. However, the inconclusive results of last month’s general election (GE15), and a royal prompting about forming a unity government led to GRS linking up with Pakatan Harapan (PH), BN and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
Sabah Bersatu candidates, contesting as GRS candidates, won four parliamentary seats at GE15. The coalition also has 15 seats in the Sabah state assembly.
Sabah has yet to enact an anti-hopping law. - FMT
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