GRS parties reaffirm support for Hajiji as CM

Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor

KOTA KINABALU (Jan 7): The withdrawal of support by Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno Sabah for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor on Friday proves there was an earlier move with Parti Warisan to threaten the state’s political stability.

This is a follow up to their failed plan on January 5, 2023, said the presidents of five Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) component parties, namely PBS President Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Maximus J Ongkili, Sabah STAR Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, SAPP President Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee and Usno President Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia in a joint statement today.

However, the announcement does not affect the current position of Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor because based on the State Constitution, the legitimacy of the Chief Minister is determined through the support of the majority of Members of the State Legislative Assembly.

“Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Haji Haji Noor remains the Chief Minister of Sabah and any media statements by political parties have no effect from a legal point of view. At the same time, we hereby confirm that the members of the Sabah State Assembly from GRS stand firmly in full support of the leadership of Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Haji Noor as Chief Minister of Sabah,” they said.

The statement said that GRS is a political party with the largest number of assemblymen in the Sabah state assembly.

“GRS also appreciates the support of the majority of other assemblymen for Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor as Chief Minister including the collective support of Pakatan Harapan (PH), BN assemblymen, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan) and Appointed assemblymen.

“This solid commitment is centred on the realisation that the interests of the people and the state should be prioritised over the narrow interests of parties and individuals. It is everyone’s responsibility to respect the people’s mandate in the last state election. Any movement to form a government from the back door and not through the election process is an act that betrays the mandate of the people and should be rejected,” the statement read.

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