KOTA KINABALU: Bersatu, which was on a high after the last Sabah state elections when it won 12 seats – and expanded the number to 15 – has come down with a resounding thump.
The party has been thrown out of the five-party Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition. This after Sabah Bersatu leaders led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor quit the party en masse last week.
GRS deputy chairman Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said the decision to kick Bersatu out came after a supreme council meeting he chaired on Dec 9.
“We have decided to drop Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia from the coalition and to join the current unity government (at federal level) for political stability, development and the people’s well-being,’’ he said in a statement yesterday.
He said in that meeting, they also reaffirmed their support for Hajiji who now is a direct member of GRS.
Ongkili, who is Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president, said supreme council members have also agreed to let Hajiji continue as GRS chairman.
He said Bersatu vice-president and Sabah chapter chief, Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee or his party, had nothing to do with the recently-inked Malaysia Unity Government agreement. Bersatu had rejected the agreement’s principle and objectives at federal level, he said.
On Saturday, Kiandee said the agreement to support the Pakatan Harapan-led Federal Government was invalid as Hajiji was no longer a Bersatu member and that his chairmanship in GRS had to be reviewed.
He also said that as a member of GRS, Bersatu was never involved in any meeting to join the Federal Government led by Pakatan.
With Bersatu out, GRS now consists of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Sabah STAR), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and United Sabah National Organisation (Usno).
The issue of Hajiji’s position as Chief Minister and GRS chairman was raised following the mass exodus, where all 15 assemblymen and four MPs were reported to have quit Bersatu to become direct members of GRS.
It is unclear how many GRS leaders and members have joined Hajiji but he has said that all 15 assemblymen and four MPs were moving into GRS as direct members pending the formation of a new party.
Only Kiandee stayed behind.
In the recently concluded general election, Kiandee retained the Beluran seat which he has held since 1999 on a Perikatan Nasional ticket. He had stood against an Umno candidate chosen by the GRS-Barisan pact.
All other GRS candidates contested under the colaition’s logo.
It is widely expected that the former Bersatu members will take over an existing party – Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS) – which will then be admitted into GRS.
PGRS leader Stephen Jimbangan, however, said he had yet to receive any update on the matter.
He said there had been no further communication between himself and the former Bersatu members or GRS representatives after a meeting on Dec 10.
Jimbangan had been asked to resubmit an application to join GRS on Dec 8 after some documents that were sent in November last year got misplaced.
