KOTA KINABALU, Feb 26 — The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government is ready to welcome new party Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) led by former opposition leader Datuk Peter Anthony into its fold if all the component parties can come to an agreement.
Chief Minister and GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said that he was open to Peter’s intentions of joining the state coalition once it has registered as an official coalition.
“We welcome his intentions to join or support GRS.
“However, any decision to be made must get the support from existing component parties first,” he said.
Hajiji said that political stability was pertinent in order to successfully develop the state.
“We were given the mandate to lead Sabah and we have about four more years so we want to be able to focus on development, the economy and our people.
“So we welcome his move, but we have other parties to consider when we make any move,” he said.
Peter is a former Warisan vice president who left the party last December, citing disagreement with the party’s direction to expand into Peninsular Malaysia.
When announcing his new party, he said that he intended to apply to join GRS when they are registered as a formal coalition.
However, Parti Bersatu Sabah immediately stated their disagreement, saying that any component party needs to be vetted and ensured of their political loyalty.
Hajiji, who was met by reporters in Kudat today, said that they would register GRS as an official entity but stopped short of saying when.
He said that the component parties were in agreement of the need to form the coalition to strengthen its standing in the state.
“God willing GRS will be registered, this is what the parties want.
“We have to have an official partnership, so we can be united and strong as a state government,” he said.
GRS was formed as a loose alliance to contest the 2020 state elections. It consists of some nine parties in Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).
