KUALA LUMPUR: Former Sabah Bersatu leaders and elected representatives are set to join a little known local party after announcing their departure from Bersatu, says a source.
Speaking to the FMT, the source said the ex-Bersatu assemblymen and members of Parliament will be joining Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), a local party that was registered in 2013.
PGRS contested in 28 state seats in the September 2020 Sabah elections, but lost in all of them.
According to the news portal, Sabah Bersatu elected representatives held a meeting on Thursday, 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 Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said that he and other Sabah Bersatu leaders would leave the party and 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 Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), which governs the state in an alliance with Barisan Nasional (BN).
GRS has pledged support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's unity government but Bersatu and PN form the parliamentary opposition.
Previously, GRS had repeatedly backed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin 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 six parliamentary seats at GE15. The coalition also has 15 seats in the Sabah state assembly.
Sabah has yet to enact an anti-hopping law.
Meanwhile, Warisan deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking has questioned the status of Hajiji's position as chief minister after Sabah Bersatu leaders left the party.
He questioned whether Hajiji still had majority support in the Sabah state assembly and said Hajiji should now test his majority in accordance with the state constitution.
Leiking also contended that four MPs from Sabah Bersatu would have to vacate their seats under the anti-hopping law if they had resigned from the party.
The four MPs are Armizan Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akhbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Jonathan Yasin (Ranau) and Matbali Musah (Sipitang), who stood for election on the GRS ticket but Leiking contended that they are members of Bersatu and their resignation from Bersatu would trigger the anti-hopping law.
Leiking also questioned the position of Armizan and Khairul Firdaus as Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister and deputy tourism, arts and culture minister respectively.
"If there is any ambiguity, this must be made clear otherwise the entire process in enacting the anti-hopping law will become a sham," he said.
He also suggested that the governor, Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, should recall Hajiji's appointment and seek a clarification from all state assembly members if Hajiji still had majority support.