Kota Kinabalu: Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) will support Gabungan Rakyat Sabah Chairman Hajiji Noor as Chief Minister while Perikatan Nasional has indicated that it will be in the opposition.
Star president Jeffrey Kitingan confirmed that the party’s two assemblymen – himself and Bingkor assemblyman Ishak Ayub – will support Hajiji.
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Kitingan congratulated Hajiji on his reappointment as the Chief Minister and also expressed gratitude to the voters who reelected him in Tambunan and backed Ishak to become the Bingkor assemblyman.
“Moving forward, Star is committed to continue supporting the Chief Minister and constructively contributing to the state government’s agenda of development and stability. Sabah deserves to have a government that works together, especially in matters concerning its rights under the Federal Constitution and its long-term sovereignty,” he said.
The former deputy Chief Minister said his party remained committed to ensuring Sabah receives its entitlement to 40% of revenue derived from the state.
“We are prepared to support any genuine and bold effort to ensure Sabah’s rights,” he said.
Separately, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said the coalition, through its sole assemblyman, remained committed to serving as a “check and balance” on the new state government.
He congratulated state PAS chief Aliakbar Gulasan on his election as the Karambunai assemblyman, saying this result motivated PN to work even harder in Sabah. Aliakbar was previously a nominated assemblyman appointed by the Hajiji administration in 2020.
He sat in the government bloc up until the state assembly’s dissolution last month, although PN was rivals with GRS at the federal level.
Muhyiddin, the Bersatu president, said PN will conduct a holistic study and post-mosterm on its performance at Saturday’s election to identify how it can bolster its presence in the Bornean state.
“PN is committed to being a principled voice that serves as a check and balance, championing integrity and the people’s interests while offering itself as a stable and mature political alternative,” he said in a statement.
Hajiji was sworn in for a second term as the Chief Minister past 3am Sunday. GRS had won 29 seats while Hajiji was also backed by five independent candidates, three assemblymen from Upko, and one from Pakatan Harapan.
