The seating of Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin in the state legislative assembly has been moved to the opposition side, amid the political imbroglio plaguing the state.
This was evident at the special state assembly sitting today to discuss the Sabah Energy Commission Bill 2023 and Gas Supply Bill 2023, presented by Chief Minister Hajiji Noor.
Aside from Bung, the sitting arrangement of several other BN lawmakers who had previously served as ministers in the state administration was also moved to the opposition side.
They include Karambunai assemblyperson Yakub Khan and Sukau assemblyperson Jafry Ariffin.
However, the positions of the five state BN representatives who had backed Hajiji amid the crisis, remain unchanged.
In fact, two of them, namely Tanjung Keramat assemblyperson Shahelmy Yahya and Sindumin representative Yusof Yacob, reportedly attended today's sitting.
Both bills were passed without incident at the end of the session.
Although there has yet to be an official announcement from Hajiji, the rearrangement of Bung's seat indicates that he has been sacked as the state deputy chief minister.
Harapan reps relocate to govt backbencher’s row
As for Pakatan Harapan representatives, their seats have been moved to the backbencher's row of the government's side.
Both Bung and Warisan president Shafie Apdal said they were backing Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's proposal for the formation of a unity government in Sabah.
On their absence from the sitting, Bung said that it was due to a number of BN assemblypersons travelling to Kuala Lumpur to attend the Umno annual general assembly tomorrow, while Shafie said that his party lawmakers will be busy working on establishing a new special committee that will determine the leadership of the new unity government.
Both leaders, however, pledged their support for the two bills presented this morning.
Thus far, there is no indication whether Hajiji and lawmakers under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) banner are agreeable to the unity government proposal put forward by Anwar last night, who said that he wants to see a "strong government" under Hajiji.
Last Friday, Sabah BN announced it was withdrawing support for Hajiji to serve as chief minister.
This failed to dislodge Hajiji because five out of 18 Sabah BN lawmakers and seven Pakatan Harapan assemblypersons chose to stick with Hajiji.
As of last night, Hajiji is still expected to command the support of 44 out of 79 assemblypersons.
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