Hajiji said this will pave the way for the next generation of leaders to govern the Bornean state while ensuring leadership continuity, Astro Awani reported.

“I have already told my constituents in Sulaman that this will be my last time joining a state election,” the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman was quoted as saying.

Hajiji, president of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, said he had never expected to be given the mandate to lead Sabah, despite over 35 years in the political arena.

Hajiji, the eight-term assemblyman for Sulaman, was appointed as Sabah’s 16th chief minister after the 2020 state polls. He was the head of Sabah Bersatu then.

In December 2022, shortly after the general election that year, Hajiji led a mass exodus of Bersatu leaders in Sabah as GRS threw its support behind Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Hajiji’s GRS is working with Pakatan Harapan for the upcoming state election but is expected to clash with federal ally Barisan Nasional at the polls.