Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin claimed that Sabah assemblypersons who defected from the party last month are still Bersatu members at heart.
He said those who followed Chief Minister Hajiji Noor out of the party, only did so for stability.
"I have spoken to them (former Sabah Bersatu assemblypersons), and there are those who said that their hearts were still with Bersatu.
"But to ensure the Sabah leadership does not change, they would like to remain with Hajiji," he said during a press conference in Kota Kinabalu today.
It is unclear when Hamzah (above) met the former Sabah Bersatu assemblypersons, or how many of them were still secretly loyal to the party.
Prior to the defection, Sabah Bersatu had 16 assemblypersons of which 11 were elected and five appointed.
Hajiji had led a bulk of Sabah Bersatu - including all 16 assemblypersons - out of the party last month to be direct members of the GRS coalition.
This came after GRS aligned itself with Anwar Ibrahim in the prime minister race, instead of Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin.
This had led to questions on party hopping at the federal level for four GRS MPs - a matter which is currently being deliberated on by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul.
The defectors claimed they had annulled their Bersatu membership prior to the 15th general election, by joining GRS as direct members.
Stability in Sabah vital
Despite the betrayal, Hamzah, who is the parliamentary opposition leader, said stability in Sabah was vital.
Hence, he said Sabah BN and Umno should have kept to their promise from 2020 to back Hajiji as chief minister.
"Hajiji was appointed (as chief minister) as per the agreement, which Umno should follow," he added.
BN and Bersatu had an electoral pact during the Sabah 2020 state election.
On Friday, Sabah BN - which has 17 seats - withdrew support from the state government, citing a breach of trust whereby the coalition would support Hajiji’s leadership in exchange for positions in the cabinet and government-linked companies.
This was after Hajiji axed Salleh Said Keruak as Qhazanah Sabah chairperson, with further plans to reshuffle the state cabinet.
However, the planned coup failed after five Sabah BN assemblypersons retained support for Hajiji, who now has 44 representatives on his side, enough to stay in power. - Mkini
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