Sabah, the land of 'Party Hopping', 34 assemblymen leave their parties

Focus

By KHAIRIL ANWAR MOHD AMIN

13 Sep 2024 03:31pm

Photo for illustration purposes only.

Following the 15th Sabah state election held alongside the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018, no single coalition was able to dominate Sabah's political landscape and form a government on its own.

It began with the formation of the Warisan Plus in government, a collaboration between Parti Warisan, led by former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and Pakatan Harapan (PH) Plus until the 16th state election.

Once again, Sabah politics saw a coalition government formed after the 16th state election.

The campaign began with a cooperative formula between Sabah Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Barisan Nasional (BN), which later evolved into the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

The official cooperation between BN and Bersatu at the time won 25 out of 73 state seats.

With additional support from Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), which secured 13 seats, the new GRS coalition formed the government with 38 seats.

Meanwhile, Warisan, seen as the frontrunner to retain the state government with PH and United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), had to settle for 32 seats.

Three independent candidates, who later joined the Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), won seats.

However, the political stability was soon tested by the party-hopping phenomena, which has long been an issue in Sabah.

The shift began with two Upko assemblymen, Datuk Limus Jury (Kuala Penyu) and Datuk James Ratib (Sugut), leaving their parties to join Bersatu.

This was followed by 11 Warisan assemblymen.

To make matters worse, tensions between BN and Bersatu at the federal level during GE14 had a significant impact on Sabah's political polarisation.

The formation of the unity government after the 15th state election saw PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appointed as the 10th Prime Minister, with support from BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), GRS and Warisan, shifting Sabah’s political configuration.

Since GRS was linked to Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Bersatu, both in the opposition bloc, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and 14 Sabah Bersatu assemblymen decided to leave the party to stay with GRS.

This decision was made because GRS supported the formation of the unity government in Putrajaya. Hajiji's position remained secure as long as GRS had majority backing within the unity government.

Nevertheless, Hajiji and GRS's position was not recognised by Sabah BN chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Raden and Shafie.

After months of speculation regarding a "secret pact" between Sabah BN and Warisan to topple Hajiji, Bung eventually initiated the "Kinabalu Move."

On Jan 6, 2023, Bung announced that Sabah BN was withdrawing from Hajiji's government.

This decision was made because BN lost confidence in Hajiji as Chief Minister and the alleged violation of the BN-PN agreement made during the 16th state election to form the state government.

Shafie also claimed that Hajiji's departure from Bersatu meant he no longer led a political party, as GRS was a coalition.

Furthermore, three KDM assemblymen – Datuk Peter Anthony (Melalap), Datuk Wetrom Bahanda (Bandau) and Datuk Juil Nuatim (Limbahau) believed that Hajiji no longer had the majority support to continue as Chief Minister.

Failed coup

However, the coup attempt failed after five Sabah BN assemblymen defended Hajiji’s position as Chief Minister, rejecting the state BN's decision to withdraw its support.

On Jan 8, 2023, all seven Sabah PH assemblymen also expressed their support for Hajiji to ensure political stability in the state.

Following Sabah BN and Warisan's failed attempt to unseat Hajiji, the Chief Minister reshuffled the state cabinet, replacing eight out of 11 portfolios.

Bung, Datuk Yakub Khan (Karambunai) and Datuk Jafry Arifin (Sukau), all from Umno were removed.

Bung was also dropped as Sabah deputy chief minister with Shahelmey and Star president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan appointed as Deputy Chief Minister I and Deputy Chief Minister II, respectively.

The reshuffle also saw two Sabah PH assemblymen, Sabah PH chairman Datuk Christina Liew (Api-Api) and Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin Zhe (Luyang), appointed to the new Cabinet.

The political drama in Sabah did not end there.

Unhappy with the defection of the assemblymen of five coalition to GRS, Sabah BN sought to vacate their seats.

Umno had amended its party constitution to align with the Anti-Party Hopping Act passed at the federal level.

Sabah Umno argued that the five assemblymen had violated party rules.

However, the five Umno assemblymen decided to leave the party and join GRS.

Meanwhile, party-hopping among Sabah's state representatives continued.

To date, a total of 34 Sabah assemblymen have left Warisan, Umno, Bersatu and Upko, leading to the drafting of the Anti-Party Hopping Act at the state level.

KDM also faced defections, as Juil (Limbahau) joined GRS.

GRS has now expanded its numbers to 40 assemblymen and has solidified its coalition, which now included Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), PBS and Star.

GRS further strengthened its position by signing a cooperation agreement with five more local parties.

These parties included the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), United Sabah National Organisation (USNO), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS).

Recently, PBS and STAR also signed a cooperation agreement ahead of the 17th state election, although they denied plans to leave GRS.

List of 34 Sabah assemblymen who left their parties after PRN16:

Left Warisan

1. Datuk Hassan A Gani Pangeran Amir (Sebatik)

2. Dr Yusof Yacob (Sindumin)

3. Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi (Segama)

4. Datuk Peter Anthony (Melalap)

5. Datuk Juil Nuatim (Limbahau)

6. Rina Jainal (Kukusan)

7. Mohamad Mohamarin (Banggi)

8. Chong Chen Bin (Tanjung Kapor)

9. Datuk Norazlina Arif (Kunak)