Upko reps quit, shaving Warisan-led majority by two seats in Sabah
Two Sabah assemblypersons have quit the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), which is aligned with the Warisan-led state government.
The Kuala Penyu representative Limus Jury and the Sugut representative James Ratib (above) said they are leaving Upko to be independents who support Perikatan Nasional (PN), as reported by Bernama.
With their exit, Upko now has two assemblypersons left in...
Two Sabah assemblypersons have quit the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), which is aligned with the Warisan-led state government.
The Kuala Penyu representative Limus Jury and the Sugut representative James Ratib (above) said they are leaving Upko to be independents who support Perikatan Nasional (PN), as reported by Bernama.
With their exit, Upko now has two assemblypersons left in Sabah. Their third representative in the state assembly, Upko president Wilfred Madius Tangau, is a nominated member.
However, even with the two quitting Upko, the Warisan-led coalition government still holds a two-thirds majority in the state assembly.
Limus was previously the Upko vice-president and chief of the party’s Beaufort division while James was Upko supreme council member.
Limus said they decided to leave Upko because they had lost confidence in the party leadership which they claimed is inconsistent with their struggle and objectives.
It was earlier reported that Limus and James were absent from a meeting with Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal (photo) on June 11.
Aside from Limus and James, Elopura assemblyperson Calvin Chong, Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman and Lahad Datu MP Mohamaddin Ketapi were also absent from that meeting.
Mohamaddin had repeatedly denied speculation that he would defect from Warisan. This came after Shafie claimed former minister Anifah Aman had lobbied Mohamaddin on behalf of PN to defect.
Though Upko contested in the 14th general election under BN’s banner, they decided to leave BN to form a coalition government in Sabah with Warisan and Pakatan Harapan shortly after the election.
Madius had reiterated that Upko will remain in the Warisan-led coalition after the Harapan federal government fell and was replaced by the PN government.
“We decided to work with Warisan and its partners and we formed a new coalition government in Sabah (at that time).
“That decision remains the party’s stands until today even though there is a power shift in Kuala Lumpur that left Warisan and its partners in the opposition at the national level,” he had said.
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