KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — After months of political turmoil, Bersih today criticised Sabah’s politicians for trying to topple the state government and fighting over who should be its chief minister.
He said Bersih is most concerned about Sabah passing the anti-hopping Bill, claiming the state has intentionally delayed adopting the law to strengthen its own position to allow crossovers from other parties.
“We’re closely following the states that are dragging their feet over this matter. We want to once again renew our urging for these states to enact laws. At the moment Sabah is the state we’re most concerned about.
“Even after the general elections there are manoeuvres among partners at the federal level trying to displace each other to become the chief minister of the state,” Bersih chairman Thomas Fann said during the launch of Bersih’s annual report here.
In January, Sabah Umno officially pulled the plug on their relationship with the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government and said they would no longer support Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as chief minister.
Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin cited broken deals by Hajiji as the reason for their decision, as well as a contradiction of the Constitution which disallows Hajiji from holding the position any longer once he left Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia as he was now partyless.
He said Hajiji is constitutionally no longer qualified to hold the position as he no longer commanded the majority of state assembly, and that he, was misleading the Registrar of Societies by claiming he was a member of GRS.
Bersih said this continued tug of war, impacted their ability to pass the state anti-hopping bill and in turn would affect business opportunities and shy away investors from coming into the state to conduct business.
"This situation will continue if the anti-hopping law isn't passed on the state of Sabah soon. The negative impact is political instability which means people lack confidence in the government of the day.
"Policies would be uncertain and when a government changed their vision and direction changes too. Business investors who want to set up businesses in the state will now think twice before investing in Sabah. So we are urging all states to fulfill their part and pass this bill as soon as possible," said Fann.
Sabah's cabinet was reshuffled following the withdrawal of support.
