Kunak assemblyman Norazlinah Arif said Hajiji, the state’s chief minister, is bound to repay PH for backing his administration in January 2023 after Umno retracted its support.
“Many parties are keenly watching GRS’s direction ahead of the 17th state election. Hajiji is renowned for his political maturity, so I am confident he will agree to work with PH.
“This decision is expected to be based on a strong spirit of loyalty, particularly following the critical support PH extended to the GRS-led government during the ‘Kinabalu Move’,” she told FMT.
Norazlinah said the prospective GRS–PH alliance would reflect gratitude for PH’s role in preserving political stability in Sabah.
She accused her former party, Warisan, of lacking the same cooperative spirit in its past collaborations.
“Let’s not forget that, after working with PH in the 2020 state polls, Warisan chose to go solo in the 2022 general election, showing little to no sense of gratitude (for PH’s help in the past).
“As a result, the people of Sabah punished Warisan, leaving it with just three parliamentary seats compared to eight previously. This clearly shows that Sabahans appreciate loyalty and cooperation in forming a stable government,” she said.
In January 2023, then deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin withdrew Sabah Umno’s support for Hajiji. At the time, the party was said to be in advanced talks with Shafie Apdal’s Warisan to unseat the GRS-led state government.
However, several Umno assemblymen refused to obey Bung’s orders and continued to back Hajiji, leading to their suspension from the party.
Sabah PH assemblymen, on the other hand, pledged their support for the chief minister until the end of the state government’s tenure.
Norazlinah, who left Warisan to join Hajiji’s Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah in February 2023, said PH’s support came at a crucial juncture and “saved” the state government.
She dismissed accusations of being a “political frog”, a label used by some of her former party colleagues, pointing out that Warisan itself was founded by leaders who had previously switched parties.
“Warisan’s president (Shafie) used to be from Umno while their deputy president (Darell Leiking) was from PKR. Even their fiery vice-president, Junz Wong, was in DAP before joining Warisan in 2016.
“So who in Warisan isn’t a ‘frog’? Even (Sri Tanjong assemblyman) Justin Wong and (Elopura assemblyman) Calvin Chong were from DAP but became ‘frogs’ too,” she said.
Norazlinah expressed hope that GRS would continue to be the dominant player in any prospective alliance with PH.
“We have high hopes that GRS will play a dominant role in that partnership, in line with our ‘Sabah First’ aspiration.”
In May, the unity government secretariat announced that PH and Barisan Nasional would join forces for the Sabah polls. Hajiji had earlier warned that GRS was prepared to go solo if PH teamed up with BN for the state election.
However, PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim subsequently called for the PH-BN alliance to work with the state coalition.
Talks between the three coalitions are said to be ongoing, but Hajiji has consistently maintained that Sabah-based parties should form the backbone of any alliance and lead the state government.