GRS officially comprises four parties, minus BN and PAS
Bernama
March 18, 2022 21:31 MYT
March 18, 2022 21:31 MYT
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) now officially consists of Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) without Barisan Nasional (BN) and PAS, said GRS chairman Datuk Hajiji Noor. - Astro AWAN
KOTA KINABALU: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) now officially consists of Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) without Barisan Nasional (BN) and PAS.
GRS chairman Datuk Hajiji Noor said BN would only be the political coalition's partner in administering the Sabah government, while cooperation with PAS was through the Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Sabah BN consists of UMNO, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).
"So we hope that with this coalition, we will gain political stability for the sake of unity and cooperation of the existing parties," the Sabah Chief Minister told a press conference here today.
Earlier, he chaired the GRS pro-tem committee members meeting, which was also attended by PBS president Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, STAR president Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee.
In the 16th Sabah State Election in 2020, GRS, which was not an official coalition at the time, formed the state government after winning 38 out of 73 state assembly seats.
GRS' seats came from PN (17), BN (14) and PBS (seven).
On Jan 9, last year, GRS signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to continue its cooperation among member parties and to reject any form of external interference that attempts to threaten the coalition.
Meanwhile, Hajiji said all GRS component parties would use the coalition's official logo and flag in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Commenting on parties wishing to join GRS, he said a committee was formed to evaluate applications from other parties, including the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) which had made the application since last year.
What happened in the peninsula, especially during the recent Melaka and Johor elections, did not seem to have a big impact on Sabah politics, he said.
"In politics, there are many possibilities but what happened in the peninsula is not the same as the situation in Sabah," said Hajiji who also announced the GRS Supreme Council line-up:
Chairman: Datuk Hajiji Noor
Deputy Chairmen: Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan dan Datuk Yong Teck Lee
Secretary-General: Datuk Masidi Manjun
Information Chief: Datuk Joniston Bangkuai
Treasurer-General: Ardino Diris
-- BERNAMA