KOTA KINABALU, Oct 6 — The Sabah State Legislative Assembly has been officially dissolved today to make way for the 17th Sabah state election.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor made the announcement at a press conference after attending a lunch meeting with state leaders and backbenchers at the state's administrative centre Menara Kinabalu today.
The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman said the dissolution was consented to by Sabah Governor Tun Musa Aman during their meeting this morning.
Present at the press conference were Sabah Deputy Chief Minister cum Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) acting president, along with other state Cabinet members.
Also in attendance were leaders of GRS component parties, including United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) president Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk Chin Su Phin, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat) president Tan Sri Liew Yun Fah, and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) president Tan Sri Anifah Aman.
Joining them were Sabah Pakatan Harapan chairman cum United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) president Datuk Ewon Benedick, as well as other Pakatan leaders, including Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe.
The State Legislative Assembly consists of 79 seats, 73 of which are elected, while six are appointed members.
During the 16th State Election in 2020, GRS, which was then aligned with Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN), PBS, and independent state assemblymen, secured 41 out of the 73 contested seats, forming the state government. Warisan won 23 seats while Pakatan secured nine.
GRS was formally registered in March 2022, comprising Bersatu, PBS, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), and Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp). BN and PAS were not part of the coalition.
However, in November of that year, Hajiji and other Bersatu leaders left the party to form Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat), resulting in Bersatu's removal from GRS.
By January 2023, BN withdrew support for the GRS-led state government, but Pakatan stepped in to provide support, allowing the state administration under Hajiji to remain intact.
On Thursday (October 2), GRS secretary-general Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun announced that Star and Sapp would contest the upcoming state election using their respective party logos rather than the GRS emblem.
As a result, both parties are no longer considered part of the coalition, in line with GRS’s ruling that component parties must contest under a common symbol.
Currently, GRS comprises Gagasan Rakyat, PBS, Usno, LDP, Harapan Rakyat, and PCS, and the ruling coalition holds 42 seats in the Assembly.
Meanwhile, the opposition comprises Warisan with 14 seats, BN (12), Pakatan (seven), Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (two), and PAS (one).
One seat, Sungai Sibuga, remains vacant following the death of incumbent Datuk Mohamad Hamsan Awang Supain (from BN) in January.
