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KOTA KINABALU (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – There is little sign that a new Sabah prime minister will be sworn in on Sunday (September 27) amid continued intense bargaining between Umno and Bersatu over which party should take office.
The back-and-forth discussions and offers between the two political parties since early Sunday morning have not reached a conclusion as Sabah awaits a new chief minister following the victory of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition over Warisan Plus holders. Directed by Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
The GRS election is widely divided between the head of Sabah Umno, Bung Moktar Radin, and the head of Sabah Bersatu, Mohd Hajiji Mohd Noor.
Sources have said both sides are standing firm for the prime minister’s post and there is little room left for negotiation amid political talks that the negotiation would “bring” more assembly members to their sides.
The results of the Sabah elections gave GRS a total of 38 seats, with Sabah Barisan, through Sabah Umno, winning 14 seats, Perikatan Nasional 17 seats (Bersatu 11 seats and Sabah Star six seats) and partner Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) occupying seven seats.
Shafie’s Warisan became the party with the most seats after winning 29 seats, while its partners PKR won two seats and Upko one. Warisan Plus has a total of 32 seats in the 73-member assembly. Three independents won.
Shafie has yet to admit defeat and has stated that under the Sabah Constitution, the party leader (in this case Warisan) with the largest majority should be the first choice for the governor to offer him the post of prime minister.
Shafie’s position indicates that he was ready to lead a minority government in case the other parties did not agree to a candidate for the post of prime minister.
The GRS is an informal coalition and is contested under three separate logos.
Sabah Bersatu leaders were at the Magellan Sutera Resort, while Umno’s senior federal and state leaders were at the state headquarters as both sides discussed the tug of war resolution on who would be the prime minister.
The Shafie and Warisan leaders are also taking and making calls as they try to improvise a simple majority, although political observers noted that it would be difficult for them to do the numbers.
Political sources from both sides explained that calls were being made between the leaders as they tried to fix the majority of their liking after Umno and Bersatu held firm to their positions.
They hope that Umno’s position could affect the slim majority of the Perikatan national government led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin, especially after PKR President Anwar Ibrahim claimed he had a majority in Parliament.
Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Umno MPs were free to decide who they wanted to support.
If Bersatu-Umno’s discussions for the post of Sabah’s chief minister fail, sources have said there is a possibility of early elections at the federal level.
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