FORMER Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman claims he now has the backing of enough state assembly members to form the Sabah government.

However, the Sg Sibuga assemblyman did not provide the number of reps in the 65-seat state assembly that have crossed over to his side.

“I wish to (announce) that Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin and the prime minister’s political secretary Nardin Awang have met the Sabah governor (Juhar Mahiruddin) to inform him that the state coalition has a sufficient majority to form a new state government,” Musa said in a statement today.

Musa said the governor has asked him to submit statutory declarations (SDs) to confirm the support.

“I have received the SDs that support the new coalition, which I will head,” said the Umno leader.

The former Sabah Umno chief was acquitted of 46 graft and money-laundering charges linked to timber concessions on June 9, after Perikatan Nasional took over Putrajaya.

The state is currently headed by Warisan Sabah, which has 33 assemblymen and is supported by Upko (3) and Pakatan (9), giving the faction a total of 45 reps.

The opposition comprises Bersatu (9), Umno (1), PBS (4), STAR (3) and independents (3) for a total of 20 assemblymen.

If true, Sabah will be the fifth Pakatan Harapan state to fall to PN following the former’s collapse at the federal level in February. The other states that fell are Johor, Malacca, Perak and Kedah.

The only states left under Pakatan are Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan. – July 29, 2020.