KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 ― Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) insisted that their presence is still prevalent in Sabah following announcement that its leaders are leaving the party.

Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the party will remain in the state with members who have decided not to leave with the leaders.

"The party’s management will immediately rebuild a structure at all levels (in Sabah) in order to strengthen the party.

"We are confident that with the people’s support for Bersatu nationwide, including in Sabah, Bersatu will remain in Sabah and rise from the current situation,” he said as quoted by FMT.

Faizal added that he was disappointed with the move taken by former Bersatu Sabah chief Datuk Hajiji Noor and other leaders who are leaving the party in order to be a full local coalition under Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

While GRS has pledged its support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government at the federal level, Bersatu is in the Opposition as part of Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Meanwhile, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi praised Hajiji’s decision in Sabah and calling it the "right decision”.

"It was a hard decision to make but it was done for the future of the state and the interests of its people,” he said in a Facebook post.

Earlier today, Hajiji said that they made the unanimous decision to leave Bersatu after considering Malaysia’s current political landscape and taking into consideration the Agong’s advice for the formation of a unity government at federal level.

Hajiji said that the state government helmed by GRS and Barisan Nasional wanted to ensure economic recovery and that its aspirations of the Borneo Bloc to see that the Malaysia Agreement or MA63 will be fully implemented.