KOTA KINABALU, May 21 — Limbahau assemblyman Datuk Juil Nuatim today said he was quitting Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) and would be an independent assemblyman for now.

Juil, who is also the KDM deputy president, said as an independent assemblyman, he would support the leadership of Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as Chief Minister and his current government.

"Yes, I am quitting (the party), and will be an independent assemblyman for now. As for joining another party, let us first see which party can bring development and progress to the Limbahau constituency.

"There is no discord with the KDM president (Datuk Peter Anthony), it’s just that at the state level, we want to bring development to our area,” he said when contacted by reporters here today.

In the 16th Sabah elections in 2020, Juil stood on a Parti Warisan ticket and won the Limbahau seat with a majority of 2,523 votes, before quitting the party in December 2021.

With Juil leaving the party, KDM now only holds the Melalap seat held by Peter, while the Kota Marudu parliamentary seat is held by fellow deputy president Datuk Wetrom Bahanda.

Also, KDM member Riduan Rubin won the Tenom parliamentary seat with a majority of 1,108 votes as an independent candidate in the 15th general election last year. — Bernama