KOTA KINABALU, Nov 22 — A Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) component party leader has said that there is no “war” with Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) as reported in the media.
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) information chief Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said Sabah’s government leaders had the state’s interest at heart and would not take any actions that would cause instability.
“I don’t see any war, I read about it in the papers. I don’t think our chief minister would want to be at war with anybody, I think he has the interest of the state and the people.
“Datuk Seri Bung is also a very rational leader, who takes into account what is good for the state and the people,” said Bangkuai, referring to Sabah BN chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
The Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment minister said that the GRS-BN state government has been doing well, tabled the largest budget for this year, and will soon set another record for the next largest budget this Friday.
“Both GRS and BN are really working very hard, and we would not have been able to table a big budget without working together,” he said when speaking to reporters today.
He also expressed confidence that the state government would remain intact.
Last Monday, Bung had accused Sabah chief minister and GRS chairman Datuk Hajiji Noor of reneging on their deal for the latter to support BN in the formation of a new federal government.
Bung said that Hajiji broke their pact by supporting Perikatan Nasional to form a new government and also supported candidates from another party, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat, and an independent candidate in contesting the GE15.
Hajiji, in a statement yesterday, denied “starting a war” and said that any deal they had made, was off the table when BN lost the elections and could not put up a Prime Minister candidate.
Their tiff raised questions about the stability of the state government which is headed by the two coalitions who were at odds at the national level.
