Malaysian PM Anwar to meet Sabah leaders over political crisis
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Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim begins his two-day visit to Indonesia on Sunday.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PETALING JAYA - Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says he will look into the Sabah political crisis official visit to Jakarta.
He said he will meet representatives of Sabah political parties on the issue.
“After returning from Jakarta, I will give special attention to the developments in Sabah,” he told reporters after attending Pakatan Harapan’s presidential council meeting on Saturday.
The Prime Minister begins his two-day visit to Indonesia on Sunday.
The Pakatan chief said he has spoken to Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, adding that the political situation in Sabah is under control now.
“I have spoken to Hajiji and I was made to understand that (Barisan Nasional chairman and Umno president) Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has spoken to (Sabah Barisan chairman) Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, and the situation is under control for now.
“We will ensure that the administration of the state is unaffected as our priority is the country, economic growth and the interest of the people,” he added.
Asked to comment on the latest situation, Mr Anwar replied that the situation “was still calm”.
On Friday, he had also said the political situation in Sabah was calm and there would be no change in the state government.
On Saturday, Pakatan assemblymen in Sabah reiterated their support for Mr Hajiji as Chief Minister after his government collapsed with Barisan pulling out its support.
Five Barisan assemblymen have publicly announced their support for Mr Hajiji as Chief Minister while calling for Mr Bung Moktar to step down as state Umno chairman.
The five assemblymen said in a joint statement they were pledging their unwavering support for Mr Hajiji as Sabah Chief Minister under the law.
Mr Bung Moktar had announced the decision to pull the plug on the 27-month-old coalition state government after chairing a two-hour meeting at the Sabah Umno headquarters on Friday night.
The Deputy Chief Minister claimed that Sabah Barisan had lost confidence in Mr Hajiji as he had lost his locus standi to remain as Chief Minister after he quit Bersatu to become a direct member of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) party.
The decision to pull out, he added, involved 17 Sabah Umno assemblymen and Segama representative Mohamaddin Ketapi of Parti Bangsa Malaysia.
However, Mr Bung Moktar admitted that at least five of his assemblymen have yet to support the move, although he chose not to name them. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
