GRS deputy secretary-general Armizan Ali said various parties, including opposition assemblymen themselves, wanted change in Sabah’s political landscape, where party-hopping has almost become the norm.

“No one should be pretending to be ‘holy’ or acting like they were the only victims (of party-hopping),” he told FMT when met at Parliament.

Political analysts and the opposition, including Sabah Muda and Warisan, have accused the state government of intentionally delaying the tabling of the bill to bolster GRS’ own position and make it easier for crossovers from other parties.

This was after eight Sabah assemblymen from Warisan and Umno quit their party in March to join GRS.

Today, Limbahau assemblyman Juil Nuatim joined GRS as a direct member, two days after quitting Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM).

Armizan, who is also Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister, said Sabah had a long history of party-hopping, citing the constitutional crisis in the state after the 2018 general election.

Barisan Nasional’s Musa Aman was sworn in as chief minister on May 10, the day after the polls. However, Shafie Apdal later claimed he had a simple majority to form the state government after defections from BN assemblymen.

The Warisan president was also sworn in as chief minister on May 12. The Kota Kinabalu High Court eventually declared in November 2018 that Shafie was the rightful chief minister, dismissing court action by Musa.

“Because of party-hopping, (Musa’s) state government only lasted for several days before Warisan took over the administration and Shafie became the chief minister then,” he said.

Armizan said the bill should not be politicised and he hoped all assemblymen would be present when the vote on the bill is taken.

“(The opposition’s) failure to attend state assembly proceedings last January when the state government tabled the Sabah Gas Supply and Sabah Energy Commission bills was very disappointing.”