KOTA KINABALU: There are more murmurs and whispers surrounding several elected representatives from Sabah Bersatu who are rumoured to leave the party and instead supposedly opt for direct membership to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) which supports Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and the Unity Government.
Speculation has been rife since a few days ago after their position within Sabah Bersatu raised questions because the party is a component of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition who will be the opposition at federal level.
This follows Sabah Chief Minister and Sabah Bersatu Chief who is also GRS Chairman, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor stating his support for Anwar and the Unity Government.
Hajiji's support was confirmed by Anwar himself, and in fact a GRS representative from Sabah Bersatu, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Papar,was appointed as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Sabah and Sarawak in the Unity Government Cabinet.
Such a situation has resulted in the position of Bersatu Sabah elected representatives who support Anwar and the Unity Government to be seen as awkward because at the same time they are also elected representatives from Sabah Bersatu and PN which oppose the Federal Government.
One avenue that enables them to support the Unity Government is by using the name GRS, since Sabah Bersatu are part of the coalition together with other local political parties, namely Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Maju Sabah (SAPP) and Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Sabah Bersatu (USNO).
Therefore, according to a source, 14 Sabah Bersatu assemblymen including two who were appointed as well as four MPs must leave the party and become direct members of GRS so that there are no more questions about their position and where their allegiance lie.
GRS, which was registered as a new political entity in Sabah earlier this year, is said to allow for direct membership, apart from component parties.
Apart from direct membership into GRS, there are speculations suggesting that the Sabah Bersatu's elected representatives might be joining USNO which is led by Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
However the source said that the Sabah Bersatu representatives will most likely opt for direct membership into GRS after the matter was scrutinised and fine-tuned to ensure that there were no problems for them to do so.
GRS secretary-general who is also Sabah Bersatu deputy chief, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun was reported by a local news portal as saying that the rumours connecting them with USNO were untrue, in fact he has asked to be given a time period of a few days regarding the direct membership into GRS.
However, Masidi is reported to be unwilling explain how the process will be carried out and how the GRS structure will be like if the Sabah Bersatu representatives exit the party and opt for direct membership to the GRS coalition instead.
At the same time, the source claims that the issue of party hopping does not arise because Sabah has not tabled such a motion that prevents elected representatives from switching sides.
If the speculation does become reality, GRS stands to becone a coalition of political parties that is truly Sabah based.