TAWAU, Oct 8 — Tawau Warisan Division chief Abdul Salip Ejal today announced his resignation from the party with immediate effect.

Abdul Salip said this was to enable him to do more for the people together with Sindumin assemblyman Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob, who quit the party this morning to become an independent representative and who also voiced his support for the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led government.

"Nine committee members of this division and I have agreed to be in the independent bloc with Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob. We made this decision willingly without any pressure from any quarters.

"I would like to thank the entire Warisan leadership, especially the president (Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal), for his trust in me to lead this division for the past two years,” Abdul Salip said in a statement.

Earlier today, Yusof, 66, who was also the party’s information chief, officially quit the party as he wanted to focus on resolving the problems faced by the people in Sindumin and Sipitang, as well as to bring more development to the areas.

In the 14th General Election in 2018, Yusof won the Sindumin state seat with a majority of 760 votes in a three-cornered contest and defended the seat at the 16th Sabah state election last year with a 424-vote majority in a six-cornered fight. — Bernama