Shafie defends move to dissolve Sabah assembly

Former chief minister Shafie Apdal today defended his decision to dissolve the Sabah legislative assembly to make way for a state election, saying his Warisan government had been disrupted by certain parties.

“I would rather die in the political arena than hand over the government. Let the people determine the outcome,” he said while debating the budget bill in the Dewan Rakyat.

Mohamad Alamin (BN-Kimanis) had asked if Shafie regretted proposing the dissolution of the state assembly to hold an election which saw a subsequent spike in number of Covid-19 cases in Sabah.

Shafie said he would not bow to those who practise the concept of “cash is king” and who had the ability to buy over MPs.

He also said there would have been no need for the Sabah polls if his administration had not been disrupted by certain quarters.

The Sabah election which was held on Sept 26 saw Warisan fall to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), comprising Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional and Parti Bersatu Sabah.

GRS formed the new state government after obtaining a simple majority of 38 seats.