KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Perikatan Nasional (PN) chief Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor will be the next Chief Minister of Sabah.
"Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, which is comprised of PN, Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), has agreed to form the new Sabah government led by me.
"I was informed that the swearing-in ceremony will take place tomorrow," Hajiji said at a press conference after a closed-door meeting at a hotel here today.
Also present were Sabah BN chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, PBS secretary-general Datuk Jahid Jahim and other assemblymen, including three independents.
In the 16th state election, GRS won 38 seats, Warisan Plus garnered 32 seats and 3 seats were won by independents.
Hajiji, who is also the Sulaman assemblyman, said the mandate has been given by the people and it is GRS' responsibility to lead Sabah forward.
"We will continue to defend the people, to do the best in fulfilling our responsibility based on the manifesto launched (during the election)," he said, adding that the full Cabinet line-up will be revealed after the swearing-in event.
Bung, who was among frontrunners for the Chief Ministerial post, also rendered his support towards Hajiji.
"We have reached consensus and we are aware and confident that the new government will be able to restore the spirit that the people had lost due to the past administration, which did not care about them.
"We will start our journey... the people will get their attention from the government, there will be no more politicking," he added.
Earlier, the meeting was also attended by PN secretary-general Datuk Hamzah Zainudin and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.