GRS deputy secretary-general Armizan Mohd Ali said his coalition would impose a two-term limit on the chief minister’s post for all assemblymen if it formed the next state government.
He said this was part of its endeavour to prevent a concentration of power in one individual, and a global practice among mature democracies.
On the other hand, he said Warisan had shown a lack of commitment to such reforms, having abolished the two-term limit on the Sabah governorship during its time in the state government.
“The question is, why was it necessary? How did such an amendment contribute to Sabah’s development? Was it in the interest of an individual or the people?
“Shafie needs to explain why the Warisan state government was in a hurry to abolish the governor term limit,” he said in a Facebook video.
The Papar MP also noted that certain parties had claimed in the past that the removal of the governor term limit was a “sign of gratitude” to then governor Juhar Mahiruddin for swearing in Shafie as chief minister in 2018.
Shafie took his oath of office as chief minister before Juhar on May 12, 2018, two days after then Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Musa Aman was sworn in.
This was after Upko withdrew from Sabah BN and backed Shafie.
This led to a constitutional crisis, as according to the state constitution, Musa needed to resign before someone else could replace him in the post.
The constitution specifies that the governor does not have the power to remove a chief minister.
“This was the basis of speculation that the abolishing of the term limit was a ‘thank you’ to Juhar. Whether it’s true or not, only Shafie knows the basis and need for that hasty amendment to the state constitution,” said Armizan.
He also cast doubt on whether Warisan would impose a term limit on the role of chief minister, given what it did with the governor’s post.
GRS and BN have both pledged to introduce a two-term limit for the chief minister’s post if they form the next Sabah government.
The two coalitions are clashing at the state polls but have separate pacts with Pakatan Harapan. Warisan is going solo.