You can't have a Sabah govt if the CM has no party, says Shafie

KOTA KINABALU: A state government cannot be formed in Sabah if its chief minister does not belong to any political party, says Parti Warisan.

Its president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (pic) said this is in accordance with the state constitution, and having the numbers to form the government does not matter if the person seeking to helm it is without a party.

“There is no need to talk about (support), because how can a government be formed when the chief minister does not have a party? What is his (Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor's) party?” he told reporters when met at his residence on Monday (Jan 9).

Mohd Shafie said the current political crisis was constitutional in nature, not about who has the majority support or enough statutory declarations (SDs).

He said when he was chief minister, a vote of confidence was held at the state legislative assembly and he won with two-thirds of the assembly’s support.

He also noted that the anti-party hopping law was in force at the federal level but not in Sabah.

“If we allow hopping to happen here, how (does this align) with the federal level?" he asked.

On Friday (Jan 6), Sabah Barisan Nasional withdrew support from the Sabah government saying that Hajiji had breached the terms of their alliance.

With that, Sabah Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said the state government no longer existed and Hajiji was no longer chief minister.

On Sunday (Jan 8), Hajiji claimed he had obtained the support of 44 Sabah assemblymen including those from his own Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition, Pakatan Harapan and Barisan, meaning the state government was still intact and he remained Chief Minister.