Its president Jeffrey Kitingan said the party was not part of the new administration and would instead concentrate on providing checks and balances on the state government in the assembly, the New Straits Times reported.

“STAR is just observing the situation. As STAR is not invited to form the government, we will play our role as a responsible opposition. This is our official position,” he was quoted as saying.

STAR left GRS last month in protest of the coalition’s pact with Pakatan Harapan (PH).

Kitingan said on Sunday that his party would support Hajiji, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman, as chief minister following the state polls on Saturday.

Kitingan had congratulated Hajiji on his reappointment as chief minister and expressed gratitude to the voters who reelected him in Tambunan and backed fellow party member Ishak Ayub as Bingkor assemblyman.

Parti Bersatu Sabah acting president Joachim Gunsalam, representing the chief minister, yesterday unveiled the state’s new Cabinet, which brings together elected representatives from GRS, Upko, PH and Barisan Nasional (BN).

Notably absent from the line-up were representatives from STAR and independents who had pledged their support for Hajiji following the state election.

GRS came out tops in the election, winning 29 of the 73 seats it contested. It has the support of three assemblymen from Upko, one each from PH and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat, and five independents, which enabled it to form the state government.

Yesterday, Joachim announced that BN was also officially backing GRS to form the new state government, bringing the total number of government assemblymen to 45.

Warisan is part of the opposition with 25 seats. Perikatan Nasional’s sole representative in the state assembly, incoming Karambunai assemblyman Aliakbar Gulasan, said his coalition had yet to decide whether to support Hajiji’s administration.