Sabah PH assemblymen will not support backdoor govt

KOTA KINABALU: All seven Sabah Pakatan Harapan (PH) state assemblymen today said they will not support the formation of a backdoor government.

They believe that any attempt to form a new government should be based on a constructive agenda and good policies for the benefit of the people of Sabah.

"Otherwise, people will be angry and see politicians who are greedy for power and only want to grab power.

"We have also expressed our position and decision en-bloc to ensure that the Sabah's political stability is strong so that governance of development and services for the people can be implemented smoothly," they said in a statement tonight.

The state assemblymen are Sabah PH chairman Datuk Christina Liew (Api-Api), Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick (Kadamaian), Datuk Fung Ming Poon (Tanjung Papat), Phoong Jin Zhe (Luyang), Jannie Lasimbang (Kepayan), Tan Lee Fatt (Likas), and Peto Galim (Inanam).

Accordingly, the state assemblymen stated that they did not give any sworn statement in support of any party, and any party that claims to have their support is untrue.

On Nov 25 last year, all seven Sabah PH state assemblymen expressed their support for Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as chief minister and stated their commitment to work with the latter until the state assembly term ends in 2025.

Yesterday Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) secretary-general Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the party was ready to prove the validity of Sabah assemblymen's support for Hajiji as Chief Minister after it was revealed that certain parties claimed they have the support of more than half of Sabah state assemblymen to form a new state government.

The Sabah state assembly has 79 assemblymen, 73 of whom were elected and six appointed.

The Sabah government currently has the support of 59 assemblymen comprising 29 from GRS, 17 from Barisan Nasional, seven from Pakatan Harapan, three from Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat, one each from Parti Bangsa Malaysia and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah as well as one independent.

-- BERNAMA