Shafie said that he was now the rightful chief minister, having officially obtained the support of most of the 60 state assemblymen in the House, who were sworn in today. — Bernama pic

KOTA KINABALU, June 11 — Fresh from obtaining a two-thirds majority support in the Sabah state assembly, chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said that there was no disputing the legality of the emergency sitting that was called.

Shafie said that he was now the rightful chief minister, having officially obtained the support of most of the 60 state assemblymen in the House, who were sworn in today.

“First, they were all sworn in. We had given due notice to show up today. Then secondly, the motion was read and supported, and they had all given me their support. As the House is the highest authority in the state, I don’t think there is any more dispute,” he said.

He had earlier received the support of 43 assemblyman — consisting 39 elected state representatives and four nominated assemblymen — more than the simple majority needed to form the government.

In today’s proceedings, 21 out of the 60 elected state assemblymen were conspicuously absent. They were from Umno (11), Party Bersatu Sabah (6), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (2), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (1) and Upko (1) and are believed to be boycotting the session after declaring it was illegal in a statement yesterday.

Shafie said that it was stated in the rules that the assemblymen needed to be sworn in within the next 90 days or there would be consequences for being absent without consent.

When asked whether the 39 elected state assemblymen were all within the Warisan-Pakatan Harapan government or if they were independents, Shafie said that it was not clear yet as some were in the process of joining parties within the pact.

“They have tried to communicate with me, but let’s see how it goes. The important thing now is for the state to move on. We cannot be dragged down by this political polemic. It needs to be put aside for the sake of the people,” he said.

Shafie and former chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman have both been claiming rights to the chief minister post since Musa was sworn in as chief minister on May 10 after a razor-thin majority from the May 9 polls.

But defections later saw Musa lose the majority, and he was asked to step down but refused.

Shafie was sworn in on May 12, and Musa subsequently filed a lawsuit claiming the second swearing-in was unconstitutional.

He has, however, been missing from Sabah since May 14 amidst investigations into criminal intimidation against the head of state and a graft probe alleging he had bought assemblymen support.

He is believed to be in London seeking medical attention.