Dissolution rumours swirl as Sabah press keep watch at Istana

Summary

• Speculation is rife that the Sabah legislative assembly could be dissolved anytime, and media practitioners are staking out at the state palace in anticipation.

• They scrutinise every vehicle that enters Istana Seri Kinabalu or the chief minister’s residence.

Media practitioners have been enduring long nights in the rain outside Istana Seri Kinabalu and the chief minister’s official residence, Sri Gaya, amid speculation that the Sabah legislative assembly could be dissolved anytime.

The vigil began yesterday (Oct 1) after Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s (GRS) presidential council met behind closed doors at Sri Gaya.

While the meeting, chaired by GRS chairperson and Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, was meant to update members on election preparations, it ended with the automatic expulsion of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) and Parti Maju Sabah (SAPP) from the ruling coalition.

Since then, the stakeout has become a story of its own - long, restless nights, which journalists are familiar with in the run-up to elections.

Photographers are crouched under umbrellas, some perched on camping chairs, others hunched over laptops by the roadside, all waiting for that one decisive moment. Their lenses rarely stray from the convoys gliding in and out of the Istana gates or the Sri Gaya compound.

Speculation heightened earlier today when Hajiji was seen entering the palace, with rumours swirling that he was seeking consent from the state governor to dissolve the assembly.

It later emerged, however, that the visit was to formalise the reappointment of Sabah state legislative assembly speaker, Kadzim Yahya, whose term expired yesterday.

For context, without a legitimate speaker, the assembly cannot legally be dissolved. Hence, Kadzim’s extension is procedural.

From then on, every vehicle entering or leaving the Istana has been scrutinised.

At around 7pm this evening, a convoy believed to be carrying Hajiji was spotted departing the palace grounds, once again igniting speculation that the chief minister was preparing to advise the governor on dissolving the assembly.

Tonight’s sighting has only deepened the sense that an announcement could come at any moment.

The waiting game

Waiting out such moments is nothing new in Sabah politics. For decades, the press has kept watch for the chief minister himself to make the call on dissolution.

This time, the suspense centres on a possible dissolution that would pave the way for a state election. Hajiji himself had played into this tension weeks earlier. On Aug 30, when pressed by reporters on the subject, he smiled and said: “The dissolution will not be soon… Take another week or two off.”

When asked if the move would only come after Malaysia Day, he said with a grin: “Just wait. I will call you three,” referring directly to three reporters he met at an event in Papar.

Kadzim previously clarified that, if no earlier move is made, the legislature will dissolve automatically on Nov 11 - just 40 days from today.

Under Article 21(2) of the Sabah Constitution, the chief minister cannot dissolve the legislature unilaterally; he must obtain the governor’s consent, mirroring Article 70(2) of the Federal Constitution. Should consent be granted, the 17th state election will be triggered immediately.

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