Asked to comment on such rumours, Shafie maintained that he had never met any BN leader in the past two weeks of campaigning for the state polls.

“I have been working on (preparing for) this election for the past four years. Never, not once, have I reached out to other parties,” he said at a press conference in Kota Kinabalu today.

After the election ended in a hung assembly last night, Shafie and Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin were said to be holding discussions about forming the new state government, according to a source.

Shafie, a former Umno vice-president, was said to have met Bung at the state Umno headquarters to discuss potentially forming a new government with BN, Upko and Pakatan Harapan.

However, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah chairman Hajiji Noor was sworn in to a second term as the chief minister early this morning after GRS won 29 seats and secured enough backing to form a simple majority in the state assembly, thanks to the backing of Upko’s three assemblymen, one from PH, and five successful independent candidates.

Thirty-seven seats were needed to form a simple majority in the state assembly.

Jeffrey Kitingan’s Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku, which has two assemblymen, has also stated its support for Hajiji.

Shafie, a former chief minister, reiterated that Sabah should be governed by an administration composed only of local parties, subtly urging Hajiji against roping in PH’s sole assemblyman, Jamawi Jaafar, into his state Cabinet.

He said the Sabah government must be led entirely by local parties that understand the needs, aspirations and issues faced by Sabahans.

On rumours that BN will also back Hajiji, Shafie questioned whether such a configuration would last, pointing out that Sabah BN had tried to unseat the GRS chairman from the top post in 2023.

“I know that the previous GRS-BN government did not last long. There are always such dynamics in politics. Do you think (a GRS-BN government) will last (another) five years?” he asked.