HAJIJI GAINS COMMANDING EDGE AS INDEPENDENTS, PARTIES RALLY BEHIND GRS

By Syed Iylia Hariz Al-Qadri Syed Izman

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- A day after the 17th Sabah state election, several parties have declared their support for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, further strengthening the coalition’s position to form a government with a simple majority.

At present, GRS holds 29 seats in the State Legislative Assembly compared with Warisan’s 25, but backing from several other parties has brought it closer to the “magic number” of 37 seats required to form a government with a simple majority.

The official results of the Sabah state election yesterday saw GRS emerge as the largest bloc, winning 29 of the 73 seats up for grabs, placing the coalition in the strongest position to form the next state government with a simple majority.

Although still eight seats short of the 37-seat threshold, this outcome reinforces GRS’ position as the dominant bloc and a key player in the formation of the new state administration.

In a political landscape that for the first time in several election cycles features two major blocs, Warisan emerged as the closest contender with 25 seats.

The four-seat gap behind GRS makes Warisan’s path to leading government formation significantly more challenging.

The election results also highlighted a small but strategically important group with the potential to act as kingmakers in the process of forming the new state government.

This group comprises Independent candidates (5 seats), United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation – UPKO (3 seats), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) (2 seats) and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) (1 seat).

Among the peninsula-based parties, three hold bargaining power in post-election negotiations namely Barisan Nasional (BN) (6 seats), Pakatan Harapan (PH) (1 seat) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) (1 seat).

Thus far, STAR, UPKO and PH have issued official statements declaring their open support for GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to lead the formation of the state government.

The expressed support has clearly strengthened GRS’ momentum, creating the framework for a coalition capable of forming a stable government and ensuring continuity of the state’s development agenda.

Additionally, Independent assemblyman for Pintasan, Datuk Fairuz Renddan, also declared support for the GRS-led government bloc, citing the need to safeguard development mandates in his constituency.

“Political parties are merely platforms, and I am currently not in any party. I am independent and will support the government, but without compromising my principles. Development programmes will continue as usual, with a focus on human capital and youth development,” he said.

GRS deputy secretary-general Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, in a separate statement, confirmed that all five Independent candidates who won their seats yesterday have declared their support for Hajiji.

With these latest developments, the GRS chairman is now believed to have secured the support of 40 assemblymen, surpassing the simple majority threshold of 37 seats, paving the way for the formation of a new state government with a comfortable mandate.

Meanwhile, Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said in his press conference earlier today that he has not held any discussions with political leaders following the outcome of the election.

Shafie, who retained the Senallang seat, said he would only meet other political leaders during the next Sabah state assembly sitting.

“There were no discussions... I went straight to sleep. I was exhausted after many days of campaigning, and I have been working for over four years. In this election, I did not meet any political leader at all,” he said.

He was responding to a question on whether he had met or held talks with any political party leaders regarding a possible coalition to form the next Sabah state government.

It was Shafie’s first media conference after his party secured 25 state seats compared with GRS’ 29, while Barisan Nasional won six, Independents (5), Pakatan Harapan (1), Perikatan Nasional (1), UPKO (3), STAR (2) and KDM (1).

For the latest news on the 17th Sabah state election, please visit the official Bernama portal.

-- BERNAMA