A house Sabahans can unite under
Published on: Sunday, November 19, 2023
By: Datuk Teddy Chin
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Some of the ex-CMs who attended. (Inset): Hajiji speaking at the event.
Hajiji who is also Sabah Chief Minister was near-emotional in his speech lasting more than an hour. It is understandable as he and other former KL-based Bersatu leaders at last do have their own ‘home’, and a truly local party at that in line with the GRS slogan, after going through some anxious moments which I will elaborate later.
It all started last year when, after the 2022 national election which saw Anwar becoming PM, the former Sabah Bersatu chief led his lieutenants to dump the party and pledged support for Anwar.
Bersatu had been the backbone of the Sabah ruling coalition, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) which was formed just before the 2020 State election. Its partners then included PBS, Star, SAPP and other PN parties like PAS.
Although BN and Umno were not coalition parties of GRS, they were part of the GRS+ State Government formed after the election.
After dumping Bersatu, Hajiji and co declared themselves as direct members of GRS.
This gave rise to criticisms by Hajiji’s nemeses. They argued that Hajiji was no longer leading a political party in order to become CM as stipulated by the State Constitution. Among his critics was You Know Who, people who saw an opportunity to unseat him and come back to power.
There was indeed some confusion, with lawyers in GRS saying that it was alright and lawyers aligned with the opposition saying it’s not.
The Prime Minister, meanwhile, kept quiet on this matter. The TYT or Governor who is a lawyer also kept quiet.
Around that time, towards the end of 2022, PBS premier adviser Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan paid a courtesy call on Hajiji.
Pairin’s visit took place soon after a suggestion by the KDCA secretary-general that he be made the next TYT as the term of Tun Juhar would end on the last day of 2022.
This led to the presumption that the visit had something to do with KDCA’s suggestion.
I stand to be corrected but I was given to understand that he went to give his views to Hajiji about the ‘requirement’ for the latter to actually lead a party in order to carry on as CM without running foul of the Constitution.
Pairin, being a lawyer and a former CM himself who went through crisis after crisis and sabotage after sabotage, was more than qualified to give his views to Hajiji. After all, it was Pairin who initiated GBS (Gabungan Bersatu Sabah) after the 2018 election which eventually led to the birth of GRS in 2020.
That was towards the end of 2022. Then, in January 2023, a bombshell was dropped when news emerged that GRS’ coalition partner Umno was pulling out its support for Hajiji and it was an open secret that they were teaming up with Warisan who were waiting in the wings to come back to power which they lost in 2020.
If Warisan couldn’t wait to come back to power through whatever means, it’s understandable. But GRS’ own coalition partner ‘Back-stabbing”? Imagine the hurts it caused to Hajiji.
However, Man Proposes, God Disposes. Kak Wan (Anwar’s wife) once said: “Manusia merancang, Tuhan turut merancang….” The Chinese say “God has eyes”.
What the coup plotters did not expect was a few Umno’s own Assemblymen refused to go along with the plan and declared support for Hajiji instead.
At the same time, Sabah Pakatan Harapan (PH) elected representatives (both Assemblymen and MP) also declared their support for Hajiji. That gave Hajiji enough Assemblymen to carry on as CM.
That also put the spanner in the works for whoever was the mastermind behind the by now famous Failed Coup.
With continued majority, there was no necessity for Hajiji to dissolve the Assembly for fresh elections. He instead swiftly reshuffled the Cabinet, bringing a Minister each from PH component PKR and DAP while promoting two former Umno Assemblymen loyal to him.
Luck was with Hajiji. PM Anwar described Hajiji’s ‘survival’ from the coup as being due to his ‘Silat Moves’.
In his speech on Monday, Hajiji did thank the PH and the few Umno YBs concerned. He pointed out that had it not been for them, his government could have indeed collapsed.
His government having been ‘saved’ and stabilized, Hajiji went on with his next plan.
By February and not long after Pairin’s visit, there were rumours that he might be taking over PGRS, a small and little-known party formed before the 2020 election. PGRS contested in many seats but none won.
One of the reasons that attracted Hajiji, I think, was the initials of the party, PGRS which fits in nicely the GRS, the name of the coalition.
In early March, it was no longer rumours. The then PGRS leadership agreed to let Hajiji take over the party and Hajiji did not waste time in ‘launching’ it. Pairin’s presence at the launch gave credence to speculation that he advised Hajiji to have his own party. Hajiji hugged him when he saw him.
Former Sabah Bersatu leaders took positions in their new party PGRS, with Hajiji’s former NO.2 in Bersatu, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun now becoming PGRS No.2. Former PGRS president Dr Stephen Jacob Jimbangan was made the new assistant secretary-general.
An engineer by training, Stephen was later appointed Deputy Chairman of the State-owned Angkatan Hebat which supplies vehicles to all government departments. He was also made a Datuk by the TYT recently.
That settled it. The question of Hajiji not being the leader of a party did not arise anymore. In the meantime, GRS was still intact with PGRS leading it. Coming to think of it, perhaps Hajiji should thank his detractors for giving him the ‘Bright Idea’, indirectly at least.
The GRS+ PH state government has also been running smoothly since.
So why hold the first PGRS AGM so soon, only after half-a-year after taking it over? Why not wait till say next March, the first anniversary?
Answering reporters’ question on Monday, Hajiji said although the Assembly dissolution is not due until late 2025, there was no harm getting ready for he also doesn’t know at this stage when the election will be. “Let me dream about it first,” he told reporters.
Hajiji’s concern about a possible snap election is understandable. With the January failed coup still fresh in Sabahans’ mind, it’s better to learn from the past. “Once bitten twice shy,” goes the saying.
Right now, the GRS+ PH coalition seems to be working fine. But who can say for certain what will happen next? Say a year or two down the road?
Politics is a living and dynamic and forever changing thing. It is also said that politics is the art of the possible. As the election gets nearer, your so-called partners’ intention will also become clearer as shown in 2020 and 2022. And you can’t blame them. This is democracy. Each fighting for his own survival.
For example, the leader of a GRS KDM-based component party said a year or two ago that: “We will continue to support Hajiji until such time….” Until today I am still wondering what he meant and when would that “such time” be.
Although election is not due 2 years from now, it is better to get your own vehicle ready, just in case. In his speech, Hajiji urged the PGRS machinery to be ready at all times.
Although launched only half-a-year ago, PGRS’ growth has grown from strength to strength. I stand to be corrected, but I think the party now has a few hundred thousand members and counting, including those in its ‘wings’. I guess everybody wants to be associated with the CM’s party, just like opposition MPs are now throwing their weight behind Anwar, one by one.
In just a few months, PGRS divisions have been formed in not just all 73 State constituencies but even Labuan. I believe the ultimate goal is to fight for the return of Labuan to Sabah although there is no urgency.
And all divisions are led by capable or educated or influential people including existing YBs or senior politicians and academicians.
Just at the recent AGM alone, the main hall of SICC was packed while others who could not get in had to make do with watching the proceedings on closed-circuit TV outside or in adjacent halls. At least a few thousand PGRS members and supporters and well-wishers were present.
With PGRS’ first AGM settled and the hint dropped by its president, now the question on everyone’s lips would be when is the election? May be even Hajiji himself doesn’t know.
I guess the best answer is it could be anytime from now until late 2035. So just get ready. As politicians are fond of saying, just behave as if the election is tomorrow.
Never mind when the election is. When it does come, the headache for Hajiji will be how to divide the seats. Just within GRS alone there are more than half-a-dozen parties.
Then you have the PH parties including Upko. Although PH is not in GRS, let us just assume that the cooperation will continue right till the next election.
An insider told me that the basis will be whoever the incumbent Assembly member is, then his/her party gets to defend it, including PH parties if they want to be in. As for seats held by the opposition (BN/Warisan), it will be divided among GRS parties based on availability of suitable candidates and by mutual consent.
It should be remembered that there are quite a few GRS component parties who failed to win a single seat in the 2020 election – SAPP, Usno, LDP, PHRS. They are not in a position to demand. May be they can be considered for a few of the opposition-held seats currently. PHRS however has an Assemblywoman who crossed over from Warisan. I expect her to be fielded again.
Then you have former Umno and Warisan Assemblymen who are now with GRS. I expect them to be fielded to defend their seats on GRS ticket. Unless of course they want to retire or if the GRS leadership felt that there are better candidates. Those not fielded again for whatever reason can always be appointed either as Nominated Assemblymen or to head some GLC or statutory bodies.
There is also a possibility that PH parties may want to contest on their own so they are not limited to the few seats allocated by GRS. There is also a possibility that more than 1 component party (including from PH) may want a certain seat.
Then it will be real headache for Hajiji. One possible solution will however be the concept of ‘Friendly Match’ among GRS component and PH partners in areas where compromise cannot be reached.
Friendly Match or Contest is not new in Sabah. In 1990, PBS and DAP had such contests in the four Chinese areas as both were with Gagasan Rakyat led by Tengku Razaleigh. PBS won all four.
Even in the 2020 election, there were ‘Friendly Contests’ in quite a few areas. While some of these contests were by mutual consent, there had also been accusations and counter-accusations of sabotage among component or GRS-friendly parties. This is politics. Everybody wants the best deal for his party.
For example, Umno lost 3 seats – Pitas, Kuamut and Kemabong – to Independents and they blamed it on Bersatu with whom they were associated. All three Assemblymen from these areas are now in the PGRS supreme council, with two of them being Vice-Presidents.
Umno also blamed PBS whose candidate defeated their candidate in Lumadan, saying that the seat was given to Umno. PBS and Umno were supposed to be GRS friendly then.
Even among the GRS KDM parties themselves, there were accusations and counter-accusations of sabotage and so on. But, after the election, everybody closed ranks in order to form the government.
When Berjaya was the government, it sponsored independent candidates in some of the areas where the MP seats were allocated to fellow-BN partner Usno. Four such Berjaya-sponsored Independents won. So it’s nothing new.
Hajiji with his experience and wisdom will of course want the seats to be distributed among GRS+ parties in an amicable manner. If negotiations fail or if PH refuse to join, then looks like Friendly Match will be the only way. I have confidence in Hajiji to find a win-win situation for everyone. He has been an Assemblyman since 1990 and rose from an Opposition YB to be the CM. He is a veteran or, as the Chinese would say, “an old wild ….”
But I believe that at the end of the day, good sense will prevail. This is because the GRS/PH parties have to bear in mind all the time that their common enemy is BN/Umno/Warisan. So if they are not willing to negotiate and cooperate, the other side will gain. There is a Chinese saying which more or less means that The Fisherman Gains.
People like PKR’s Datuk Christina Liew, DAP’s Datuk Frankie Poon, Upko’s Datuk Ewon Benedick are level-headed and intelligent people.
They were the ones who threw their weight behind Hajiji during the failed January coup. I am sure they will make the right decision again. I don’t foresee them rejoining someone who had already disowned them after the 2020 election.
Alright, so much for the speculations surrounding the next election. Now back to the PGRS AGM itself.
What caught everyone’s attention was the presence of four ex-CMs at the function. They were Tan Sri Musa Aman, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Tan Sri Osu Sukam and Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee. This is a bonus for Hajiji.
While Yong’s presence was not unexpected as he is president of a GRS component party, the other three did attract attention.
Even Pairin’s presence was not a surprise to me for reasons I explained above.
But for Musa and Osu, this is their first time a party function since Hajiji became CM.
Musa’s presence immediately gave rise to speculations by an Australia-based Malaysian academic. But I beg to differ. I find nothing unusual due to two reasons. First, Hajiji already explained to reporters that he invited some if not all ex-CMs which also explain the presence of Osu who was CM for 2 years under the rotation, just like Yong.
The other reason is Hajiji is Musa’s protégé. The two go back a long way. When Musa was Usno treasurer, Hajiji was his assistant. When Musa was Finance Minister prior to becoming CM, Hajiji was his assistant. When Musa became CM, he promoted Hajiji from Assistant Minister to full Minister. You get the picture.
When Hajiji was Sabah Bersatu chairman when Shafie was still CM, Musa attended Hajiji’s Hari Raya open house in Tuaran. That also gave rise to a lot of speculations, even criticism that Hajiji instead of going to the State Hari Raya ‘do’ of Shafie, hosted Musa at his house.
Finally, after Hajiji was sworn-in as CM, Musa stopped pursuing his case in the courts that he and not Shafie was still the rightful CM, saying that he had confidence in Hajiji being CM.
Musa was seated in the front row below the stage during the PGRS AGM, beside the other ex-CMs. On stage, among others, was his son-in-law Dr Arifin Arif who is a Minister and PGRS vice-president. Also on stage, Datuk Ghulam Haidar Khan the Yayasan Sabah director and Kawang Assemblyman is also related to Musa through marriage.
Among the PGRS divisional chairmen seated behind Musa was one of his sons who heads PGRS in one of the Sandakan constituencies. There is no reason for Musa, Sabah’s longest-serving CM, to think about not supporting Hajiji.
Hajiji said he invited most if not all ex-CMs as a recognition for their service to the State. Those absent were Datuk Seri Panglima Salleh Said Keruak, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok and Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat all CMs under the rotation in the 90s and early 2000s.
I don’t know why Salleh was absent but I think Dompok was busy with his Upko convention, being still the spiritual leader. Chong could be out of town. He has a good relationship with Hajiji. Chong is still the spiritual leader of LDP which recently was admitted into GRS.
In conclusion, I wish Hajiji and PGRS all the best. Whatever I have written here is only based on my speculations. I may be wrong somewhere.
Talking about speculations, there are also rumours that Hajiji will lead GRS into the next election. Upon winning, he will hand over to his deputy president Masidi.
What gave rise to this speculation is the fact that Tun Juhar’s current term as TYT is only for two years instead of the normal four.
Rumours are rife that after handing over to his trusted lieutenant Masidi, Hajiji will then take over as TYT from Tun Juhar.
Assuming that this is true, I can’t think of a better person than Masidi to replace Hajiji. He is intelligent and effective. Being a lawyer, he is an intellectual. He has been a Minister since Musa’s time and therefore has the necessary experience.
He is outspoken and fearless just like Hajiji too. When then DPM and BN/Umno No.2 Najib described Sabah as a Fixed Deposit for BN after the 2008 election in which BN lost its two-thirds, Masidi despite being an Umno Minister then answered him saying “Ya, Fixed Deposit, but if we can get higher interests elsewhere?....”
In other words, Sabahans can count on Masidi to defend itself from KL, just like Hajiji. Also, Masidi being a lawyer, KL cannot ‘Kelentong” him.
Sabahans can also count on Masidi to defend their ethnicity and culture. He is very defensive and proud of his being a Dusun (from Ranau).
For example, the Sabah State Multi once suggested that perhaps Sabah Muslims from the KDM community should “Memelayukan” (Malaynised) themselves. Masidi, then still an Umno Minister, answered him saying that he may be a Muslim, but he will always be a Dusun. “So don’t tell me to ‘Memelayukan’ myself”. We can count on Masidi to defend us.
Hajiji also has Dusun blood, his mother being one. His wife too.
What many Sabahans may not know is that Masidi and Hajiji go back a long way too, just like Hajiji and Musa. Masidi was once the District Officer of Tuaran during Berjaya time and Hajiji the ADO. As fate would have it, today they are together again in both the Cabinet and the party. Masidi holds the vital post of Finance Minister. With these two leaders in charge, Sabah is in safe hands.
The Hajiji-Masidi combination reminds me of the ‘deadly’ combination of James Wong and Hassan Sani during the hey days of Sabah football in the 80s and 90s.
Point of clarification. I didn’t say that the other Ministers are not that effective or have no chance. I am only saying, on assumption, that Masidi may be a possible successor to Hajiji. Of course, any elected Assemblyman can be CM.
What gave rise to the speculation is the timing of the whole thing. The only decisive factor is when will be the election and when exactly Tun Juhar’s term ends.
Of course this is only speculation. Hajiji may not even want to be Governor. He may want to continue to be CM. The State Constitution will be amended so that a CM’s term may not exceed two. Hajiji will be in his 70s by then, the ripe age to be Governor.
Personally, I don’t think election will be that soon. This is partly because Hajiji recently told the Daily Express that the number of Ministers may be increased by two or three. Unless it is meant to take effect only after the election.
One of the possible reasons for the proposed enlarged Cabinet, I think, is to accommodate the increasing number of GRS+ PH component parties.
Whatever it is, get the vehicle ready. The Bible says We don’t know at which time of the night the thief will come or something like that.
For so long as GRS component parties stay united and PH continue to be GRS-friendly, it is very likely that GRS+ will continue to be the State government after the next election.
I would like to end by responding to a statement by the Sabah Umno information chief describing Hajiji and PGRS leaders as “Changing parties like changing shirt”, after the PGRS AGM.
Which leads me to wonder, does he even understand the word Democracy? Where on earth people cannot change parties? America? England? Malaysia?
Politicians always come from somewhere or started their career somewhere. Anwar is a former Umno deputy president. Shafie is a former Umno vice –president, Peter Anthoy is a former Warisan vice-president, Darell Leiking is a former PKR MP, Junz Wong is a former DAP YB and so on and so forth. Fine, one or two of them might have been sacked or suspended by their original party but this still proves my point, that in politics “changing shirts” is nothing new.
If people didn’t “change shirts”, Usno would not have lost to Berjaya in 1976. Berjaya would not have lost to PBS in 1985. PBS would not have been toppled in 1994. Warisan would not have defeated BN in 2018. GRS+ would not have defeated Warisan in 2020. And so on and so forth.
Even within Sabah Umno now, a senior leader and Assemblyman who is believed to be the co-pilot of the January failed coup started his political career from Berjaya, joined PBS after 1985, joined Umno in the early 90s, left Umno after it lost in 2018, befriended Anwar in 2019, back in Umno in 2020 and even fielded as a candidate. So what is the fuss? You can do it others cannot kah? The Chinese say What is yours is mine but what is mine is not yours kah?
The Umno information chief also mentioned the fact that someone was not happy after he was not named DCM cum JKR Minister at the Istana swearing-in in 2020. Since when did the CM lose his prerogative to choose his Ministers?
Besides, the Ministry of Local Government and Housing is a senior Ministry bah. Hajiji was there for a decade before becoming CM bah. Masidi was there before becoming the sole Finance Minister bah. Dr Joachim, PBS’ No. 2, is now DCM cum KKTP Minister bah. KKTP controls all the local authorities or PBT in Sabah bah apart from Housing, quite powerful bah. What is the problem? Why does someone insist on having the Works Ministry? Am I missing something here?
Anyway, the current Works Minister, Shahelmey, is most suited for the job as he is an Engineer and formerly with Pan Borneo.
The Sabah Umno information chief also mentioned Hajiji’s failure to “consult” Umno before declaring support for Muhyiddin to be PM after the 2022 national election.
Why should Hajiji consult Sabah Umno? Hajiji leads GRS, the ruling coalition in Sabah bah and he was making the decision in that capacity, just like Abang Jo being head of GPS. By comparison, Sabah Umno is just a branch of the national Umno and it is up to their president Zahid to make the decision.
Even within Umno Malaysia, a few of their MPs openly declared support for Muhyiddin then. This is democracy. At the last Umno AGM before the election, there was this “No Anwar, No DAP” battle cry bah, in case he forgot.
Hishamuddin was suspended from Umno while KJ sacked for differing opinions. This is democracy Umno style.
Good luck CM Hajiji and all the best. Soldier on. Don’t care about the critics, not least the Information Chief who did not win his Assembly seat and is a Nominated Assemblyman.
Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ)!
- The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express.
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