Kota kinabalu: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) will take firm action against any member of its component parties who contests as an independent candidate in the 17th Sabah State Election, its chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said. Hajiji, who is also Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS) president and Chief Minister, said he had received reports that such candidacies could result in conflicts with PGRS candidates or other GRS component parties.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Hajiji stated, “For friendly contests between parties, we can accept that. However, for PGRS and GRS members who contest as independents, we will take action to expel them from the party. This is non-negotiable,” he told reporters after the nomination process for the Sulaman, Pantai Dalit, Kiulu and Tamparuli seats at Dewan Seri Sulaman here today.

In the previous state election, Hajiji retained the Sulaman seat with a majority of 3,099 votes in a three-cornered contest. Polling is fixed for Nov 29, with early voting on Nov 25.