KOTA KINABALU, Nov 26 — Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) in its supreme council meeting here today reaffirmed the support of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) for the unity government as announced by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who is also the GRS chairman.

SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the party also reaffirmed its membership in Perikatan Nasional (PN) which has pledged to play the role of check and balance at the federal level.

He said the current political scenario is such whereby GRS-Barisan Nasional (BN) led the Sabah government, and the federal government is led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and they mutually respect and support each other in accordance with the constitutional arrangement in a federal parliamentary democracy.

"Such constitutional arrangements are paramount in building a strong federation. It is also wise for the governments of the day, at both the federal and state levels, to have a healthy relationship in order for both levels of government to be more effective and efficient in governing the country,” he said in a statement today.

Yong said SAPP is confident that the new federal government will respect and uphold the arrangement and spirit of the country's constitution of a federal system, whereby the state and federal governments of the day shall work with each other for the common good of the people irrespective of political alignments.

GRS, which comprised Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), SAPP and the United Sabah National Organization (USNO), is collaborating with BN, consisting of Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), to govern Sabah.

Meanwhile, STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan in a separate statement said STAR took the same stance as GRS in supporting a unity government.

However, he sees PN is now on a different path to STAR, and according to him, only time will determine STAR's position in PN, besides wanting to wait for the current political situation to subside before taking further steps.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Minister said STAR hoped there would be outstanding results related to the demand to restore Sabah's rights under the unity government led by Anwar, especially involving finance.

"I know the new Prime Minister very well and he knows me including about our demands. I hope that with the cooperation we have now, we will be able to see more significant results related to the demands of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia," he said.

He said that among the financial rights that Sabah is striving for is the return of 40 per cent of the net revenue derived by the federal government from the state and 10 per cent of the export duty on petroleum. — Bernama