Three Sabah Bersatu division chiefs join Sabah STAR

From left: Faisal Julail (Papar), Mohd Faizal Saidi (Kota Marudu) and Datuk Azni Mohd Salleh (Putatan) with Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (second from right).

KOTA KINABALU: Three Bersatu division chiefs in Sabah have switched allegiances to join Sabah STAR as inter-party hopping sees a sharp increase ahead of the Nov 29 Sabah election.

Sabah Bersatu’s Papar division chief Faisal Julail, Kota Marudu chief Mohd Faizal Saidi and Putatan head Datuk Azni Mohd Salleh officially joined Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who described their move as growing support for the Sabah for Sabahans push.

The three leaders said that Kitingan’s move to leave Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) had inspired them to join the support for local parties to rule the state, as they felt that national parties would be overshadowed by broader national issues and would not be able to serve the specific needs of the people.

“Jeffrey could have remained comfortably in office and enjoyed the privileges that came with it, even as part of the interim government. Instead, he chose to leave after seeing that the leadership was unwilling to let Sabah’s local parties stand on their own,” said Azni.

The former Bersatu leaders said Kitingan had spent months trying to convince GRS leaders to go solo and rebuild genuine local politics, but GRS leaders refused to budge.

Sabah STAR information chief Anuar Ghani said that since the party quit GRS on Oct 1, the party has been gaining more members from various parties that came from all parts of the state.

“There is a wind of change blowing across Sabah. People are going for Sabah For Sabahans and Justice For Sabah after 63 years of our rights being denied,” he added.