THE political situation in Sabah is still stable despite Barisan Nasional (BN) withdrawing support for the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said the situation is under control for now and said he had spoken to Sabah leaders.

“I’ve spoken to Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (BN chairman) has spoken to Bung Moktar Radin (Sabah Umno chief).

“God willing, I hope the management of the state is not affected.

“Our focus is still on the economy and well-being of the people,” Anwar said after attending the PH presidential council meeting today at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

Anwar, who is scheduled to leave for Jakarta tomorrow for a working visit, said he will look into the Sabah issue.

“After I’m back from Jakarta, I will look into the Sabah matter,” he said.

Anwar also added that he will meet with the Sabah leaders once he is back from the working trip.

In withdrawing support, Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar last night said Hajiji is no longer qualified to hold the post of chief minister under article 6(3) and 6(7) of the Sabah constitution.

“According to the Sabah constitution, the chief minister must be chosen from a party with the majority. He (Hajiji) is without a party, he is with GRS, which is a grand coalition party,” he told the media.

The Sabah assembly has 79 lawmakers – 73 of whom are elected and six appointed.

With BN’s withdrawal of support, the Sabah government led by Hajiji now has the backing of 41 assemblymen – 29 from GRS, seven from PH, three from Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat, one from Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, and an Independent.

Warisan has 19 seats and PAS, one. – January 7, 2023.