KOTA KINABALU, Jan 10 — Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and Parti Warisan (Warisan) president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal today fully support the move to establish a Unity Government at the state level.
Bung Moktar and Mohd Shafie in separate statements said the move to establish a Unity Government was proposed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a meeting with the state’s leaders here last night.
Bung Moktar, who is Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, said the formation of the Unity Government at the Sabah government level was seen to be able to lower the political temperature and stabilise the current political situation in the state.
“I also hope that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor can accept with an open heart the recommendations from the Prime Minister in order to guarantee the interests and well-being of the people of Sabah,” he said.
On Friday (January 6), Bung Moktar announced that Sabah Umno and BN were withdrawing support for Hajiji as they had lost confidence in the latter’s position as Chief Minister and that there was a breach of an agreement between BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Last night, Anwar, who gave his blessings to Hajiji to remain as Sabah Chief Minister, said he wanted the Sabah government to remain strong under Hajiji’s leadership.
On the tabling of the bill to hand over the power to regulate gas supply at the Sabah Legislative Assembly sitting today, Bung Moktar and Mohd Shafie said the assemblymen of both parties fully support it.
However, Bung Moktar explained that he and most of the BN assemblymen from Umno could not attend the assembly sitting as they are leaving for Kuala Lumpur to attend the Umno General Assembly scheduled for tomorrow until January 14.
On December 21, Anwar announced that the federal government had agreed to hand over the gas supply regulatory power in Sabah to the state government and that the matter was agreed upon as part of the federal government’s effort to honour the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
— Bernama
