The Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate said that his latest move, from Hajiji Noor’s Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah to PKR, was not merely a personal decision but the result of negotiations between PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim and Hajiji himself.

“That makes my work easier. Everything is settled. All these issues of party-hopping are closed,” he said, according to Utusan Malaysia.

Jamawi said he had been given a positive reception by the people of Melalap, and had already covered nearly half of the area currently in his campaign.

He dismissed speculation that he would quit PKR if he lost the election, saying he would hold firm to the principles of his struggle.

Jamawi started his political career in Umno and went on to become a leader in its youth wing.

He was elected Kemabong assemblyman in 2018 on a Barisan Nasional ticket, but later left for Warisan where he remained for just two years before returning to Umno.

In 2023, he left Umno yet again after the party attempted to unseat Hajiji as chief minister, and joined the GRS chairman’s party, Gagasan Rakyat.

Jamawi was among three former GRS leaders announced as PKR candidates for the Sabah polls, alongside Yamani Hafez Musa and George Hiew.

He is in an eight-cornered race in Melalap, against contenders such as Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat acting president Priscella Peter, the daughter of the seat’s former assemblyman Peter Anthony.

In the 2020 polls, Peter defeated Jamawi to win the seat with a 1,719-vote majority. Peter was a Warisan vice-president while Jamawi had returned to Umno.