SABAH Yang Dipertua Juhar Mahiruddin has asked for time to decide who should be the new chief minister after Putrajaya-backed Gabungan Rakyat Sabah won the state election yesterday. 

Speaking to reporters after leaving the Sabah palace today, Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Bung Moktar Radin said Juhar had “asked for some time (to decide)”.  

Bung was among the GRS leaders who had gone to meet Juhar this afternoon after they failed to reach a consensus on who would be their chief minister candidate. 

Election Commission announced yesterday that Parti Warisan Sabah won 29 seats, followed by Perikatan Nasional (17), Barisan Nasional (14), Parti Bersatu Sabah (7), Independents (3), PKR (2) and Upko (1). 

All of BN’s seats were won by Umno. 

GRS is made up of Sabah BN, which Bung leads, Sabah PN headed by Hajiji Noor and PBS. Together these three bodies have 38 seats in the 73-seat assembly, which enables them to form a government.

But it is learnt that PN and BN are at loggerheads over who gets to be chief minister.

During campaigning for the Sabah polls, PN had been stumping for Hajiji.

Sabah BN, which is dominated by Sabah Umno, has had a fractious relationship with Perikatan and has not agreed on Hajiji.

Hajiji, PBS secretary-general Jahid Jahim and STAR president Dr Jeffrey Kitingan were also seen entering and leaving the Istana. – September 27, 2020.