In Kota Kinabalu, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun has urged patience from coalition partners in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led state government. He explained that it would be challenging to accommodate everyone with a position due to the limited number of posts available. Even members of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, the GRS anchor party, have expressed dissatisfaction over unfulfilled promises of positions.
Emphasizing that the new Sabah government has only been in existence for about nine months, Masidi Manjun stated that the adjustment in the distribution of positions will take time. While acknowledging the need to accommodate others, he also highlighted the importance of managing the issue for those currently holding positions. He encouraged patience and assured that the adjustments would eventually happen.
Responding to Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick’s reminder that GRS’s ability to lead the state government is due to support from Pakatan Harapan during the Sabah political crisis in January, Masidi Manjun affirmed that cooperation between GRS and Pakatan should also be reflected in power sharing at the grassroots level.
The Sabah political crisis was initially triggered by the withdrawal of support from Sabah Barisan Nasional-Umno for the GRS government on January 6th. However, GRS managed to gain the support of 44 out of 79 assemblymen, including seven representatives from Pakatan and several Sabah Umno renegades.
As a consequence, several Sabah Umno leaders, including its chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, were subsequently removed from the state Cabinet.