KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) lawmaker Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee reiterated that the four members of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) were Sabah Bersatu members during the recent general election (GE15).

Kiandee, who is Bersatu vice-president, also said that the legitimacy of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s government should be questioned in light of the anti-hopping law coming into force.

The de facto chairman of Sabah Bersatu added that there were six lawmakers currently in the Opposition despite contesting as Bersatu members on a PAS ticket during GE15.

"There are six MPs in the Opposition — Machang, Ketereh, Jeli, Gua Musang, Tanah Merah and Hulu Terengganu — who contested under the PAS banner but were actually Bersatu candidates.

"The position that we are in right now sees the six behind us but the four out of six (GRS members) are on the other side,” said Kiandee as he gestured towards the government aisle.

He said that this was normal before the implementation of the anti-hopping law, but now that it has been enforced, the legitimacy of Anwar-led government should be questioned.

The four MPs are Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan who is Batu Sapi MP, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali who is Papar MP, Sipitang MP Datuk Matbali Musah and Ranau MP Datuk Jonathan Yasin.

Although from Bersatu, they had obtained their watikah from GRS and contested under the GRS logo. There is also talk that the four had resigned from Bersatu prior to the elections.

Meanwhile, Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Kamal, Ketereh MP Khlir Mohd Nor, Jeli MP Zahari Kechik, Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, Tanah Merah MP Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz, and Hulu Terengganu MP Datuk Seri Rosol Wahid contested as PAS candidates but are currently Bersatu members.