‘Kinabalu Move' was about state govt posts, says Kunak rep
PETALING JAYA : A Sabah assemblyman, who was formerly with Warisan, has claimed there was nothing altruistic about the 'Kinabalu Move' – an attempt led by Sabah Barisan Nasional chairman Bung Moktar Radin to dislodge Hajiji Noor as chief minister.
In a podcast, Norazlinah Arif recalled that Warisan assemblymen were summoned to attend a press conference at a hotel in Kota Kinabalu several days before the failed 'coup'.
She said the assemblymen were told that Warisan would be part of a new state government, leaving them in shock, as the matter was never once discussed among the party's elected representatives.
At the time, some assemblymen questioned why they should back Bung over Hajiji, Norazlinah said.
The Kunak assemblyman claimed that they were then informed that if they backed the Bung-led coup, four or five Warisan leaders would be named to the state Cabinet.
'We knew the four who would be made ministers,' she said, without identifying them.
'That means the move to topple the government had nothing to do with the rakyat. It was about wanting government posts,' she said.
Norazlinah, who quit the Shafie Apdal-led party in February 2023, also claimed there were plans for a second coup after the first one failed.
In January 2023, Bung, the Sabah Umno chief, announced that the party was withdrawing its support for Hajiji.
However, six Umno assemblymen pledged continued support for Hajiji, foiling Bung's plans which had the backing of Warisan and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat.
Pakatan Harapan and GRS assemblymen also pledged their undivided support for Hajiji, who has been in office since the state election in September 2020.
Bung was subsequently dropped as the state's deputy chief minister.
Earlier this month, Sabah Umno deputy chief Abdul Rahman Dahlan suggested that Sabah BN's pullout from the state government was a needless mistake.
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