Hajiji to be sworn in as Sabah CM this morning

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) respects the move to nominate Sabah Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as the next chief minister.

Its chairman, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said this was despite the coalition, from the initial stages, stressing that the chief minister’s post should be handed over to Umno.

This was because the party had the biggest number of seats in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) at 14, followed by Bersatu at 11, Parti Bersatu Sabah (7) and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku Rakyat Sabah (6) .

D espite the initial position, Zahid said the coalition was now agreeable to handing over the chief minister’s post to Hajiji.

He added that the move was to ensure that the interests of the Sabah people, which he claimed had been disregarded by the previous Warisan state government, would be championed by the newly elected GRS government.

“Hopefully, the new government will pay attention to the various agenda to defend the interests of the Sabah people as contained in the GRS manifesto,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

In Kota Kinabalu, Warisan chief Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal is keeping mum about rumours of him amassing statutory declarations to support his bid for the chief ministership.

His official residence, Rumah Yayasan Sabah, at Likas near here, has been a hotbed of activity since yesterday, with supporters thronging the house.

Present were all the Warisan assemblymen.

Shafie, who emerged from the house briefly, did not comment but thanked his supporters as well as the media.

On GRS’ announcement that Hajiji has been chosen as the new chief minister, Shafie only replied: “Thank you. We will continue to serve the people.”