Rina quit Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah shortly before nominations last week, saying she was the victim of “unprofessional” actions by the party.

Many of her constituents had questioned the party’s decision to bar her from contesting the seat, which is part of the party’s quota under a seat allocation deal by the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah. She previously had the green light to seek a second term.

“Many couldn’t believe that I wasn’t going to be (the PHRS candidate) after seeing how well I performed. They found it odd. That support from the people of Kukusan has strengthened my resolve to contest as an independent candidate,” she said in an interview with FMT.

Rina was the deputy president of PHRS but resigned two days before nominations after she was suspended from the party, a move she claimed was aimed at barring her from defending her seat at the polls.

She was elected Kukusan assemblyman in the 2020 polls on a Warisan ticket, narrowly defeating Barisan Nasional’s Chaya Sulaiman by just 10 votes.

This time, she faces a 10-cornered fight to defend her seat, with BN fielding Chaya again, while ruling coalition GRS is fielding Kukusan PHRS chief Samsiah Usman.

Rina said she had received offers from other parties amid the drama with PHRS, but turned them down as she had held hope that her internal issues with the party could be resolved.

“I met the PHRS president (Liew Yun Fah) and tried to clear things up, but it was unsuccessful. In the end, I chose to stay away from internal politics to focus on serving the people of Kukusan.

“I am choosing to be a government-friendly independent candidate because throughout my political journey, I’ve learned that the struggle isn’t about positions or parties but serving the people.”

Rina added that whichever party forms the state government will have her backing if she is elected, adding that the people of Kukusan will not be sidelined despite being represented by an independent assemblyman.