KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today thanked Parti Warisan Sabah Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal for being open about Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s plans to enter Sabah.

The PPBM president said he is grateful over Mohd Shafie’s professional handling of the matter, and that the latter’s non-emotional approach will allow both parties to focus on developing the state in line with the mandate given by voters in GE14.

“As a friend who has long known him (Mohd Shafie), I want to express millions of thanks to him for being open-hearted towards Bersatu’s entry into Sabah. Even though this is not an easy decision, it shows how big his heart is as well as the entire Warisan leadership,” Muhyiddin said in a statement.

He stressed that PPBM’s purpose in Sabah is to strengthen the current state government which is being led by Warisan, and will continue to do so under Mohd Shafie’s leadership as state chief minister.

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Mohd Shafie said earlier today that Sabahans need not get worked up over PPBM’s entry into the state as Warisan is more than capable of leading the state.

Breaking his silence on the matter, he said the peninsula-based PPBM has every right to set up shop in Sabah, and that there is nothing to stop them from coming here.

Last Friday, PPBM chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the party’s decision to spread its wings to Sabah to help strengthen the state government despite repeated insistence  from Shafie that the peninsula-based party would keep its word not to enter Sabah as per a “brotherly agreement” reached during the 14th general election last year.

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At the same time, former Sabah Umno Liaison chairman Datuk Hajiji Noor said that five MPs and eight state assemblymen who quit the party last December had applied to join PPBM.

PPBM is one of the component parties of the federal Pakatan Harapan, along with PKR, DAP and Amanah.

In Sabah, Warisan is in a pact with PKR, DAP and Upko to form the state government.