Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)
Sabah's governing coalition, formed as an informal alliance before the 2020 state election, registered with the Registrar of Societies in March 2022, now made up only of Sabah-based parties; it retained power after the hung assembly of November 2025, and Upko joined in June 2026.
Who is in it
Currently: PBS, GAGASAN RAKYAT SABAH, LDP, PHRS, PCS, UPKO.
Previously, and no longer: BERSATU, STAR, SAPP, USNO.
Party membership of a coalition changes over time. The dates behind this are the same ones the Coalition River on the home page is drawn from.
The account
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah began as a campaign arrangement rather than a coalition. On the eve of nomination day for the September 2020 Sabah state election, Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional and Parti Bersatu Sabah agreed to stand together against the Warisan Plus government under the GRS name. They won 38 of the 73 seats, and Hajiji Noor was sworn in as Chief Minister on 29 September 2020.
For the next 18 months GRS had no legal existence of its own. Its parties signed a memorandum of understanding in January 2021 to hold the arrangement together, but as Bernama put it at the time, GRS was "bukan gabungan rasmi" — not a formal coalition. That changed on 11 March 2022, when the Registrar of Societies issued its certificate.
Registration mattered because it settled what GRS actually was: four component parties — Bersatu, PBS, STAR and SAPP — contesting under one logo. Barisan Nasional was not among them, and has never been. Hajiji said BN would be a partner in running Sabah rather than a member of the coalition, and BN parties have held state cabinet posts on that basis ever since.
Then came the part that changed the coalition's character. At the November 2022 general election GRS won six parliamentary seats and, like GPS in Sarawak, backed Perikatan Nasional first and Anwar Ibrahim three days later. Three of its components were simultaneously Perikatan Nasional parties, which made the position awkward; Hajiji said the coalition's future with Perikatan was unclear.
In December 2022 Sabah Bersatu's leaders quit Bersatu altogether while staying in GRS, the already-registered Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah was admitted, and by January 2023 Hajiji was leading Gagasan Rakyat. From that point GRS was made only of Sabah-based parties.
It then grew and shrank:
- May 2022Usno joined.
- April 2023LDP and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah joined.
- May 2024Parti Cinta Sabah joined.
- 2 October 2025STAR and SAPP left, after their presidents said they would contest the coming state election under their own logos rather than accept the seat allocation being negotiated with Pakatan Harapan; a GRS rule meant any component doing so ceased to be a member.
- April 2026Usno withdrew.
- May 2026Upko, which had been in Barisan Nasional, then Pakatan Harapan, applied in May 2026 and was admitted on 18 June, taking the coalition back to six.
The November 2025 state election produced no majority for anyone. GRS took 29 of 73 seats, Warisan 25, and the rest scattered across BN, Upko, STAR, independents and others. Hajiji was sworn in for a second term in the early hours of 30 November on a reported backing of 37 elected members, drawn from GRS, Upko, Pakatan Harapan and five independents; the cabinet announced in December included ministers from BN, Pakatan Harapan and Upko alongside GRS. The result is a state government considerably wider than the coalition that leads it.
Why leaders have left is contested, and each account belongs to whoever gives it:
- Masidi Manjun
- attributed the STAR and SAPP departures to the seat-sharing deal with Pakatan Harapan.
- Usno
- said administrative and policy compatibility had gone.
- Hajiji
- told his own party's assembly in May 2026 that some had left when the positions they wanted did not materialise.
What the sources say
Formation and registration
GRS was put together on the eve of nomination day for the Sabah state election of 26 September 2020 as an umbrella for Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional and Parti Bersatu Sabah, standing against the Warisan Plus government. It won 38 of the 73 seats.
The parties in GRS signed a memorandum of understanding on 9 January 2021 to maintain their cooperation.
For its first 18 months GRS was not a registered coalition. The Registrar of Societies approved its registration and issued the certificate on Friday 11 March 2022, which Hajiji announced on 13 March.
GRS appears on the Election Commission's published list of registered political parties.
On registration GRS's component parties were four: Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) and the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP). Barisan Nasional and PAS were not among them. Hajiji said BN would be a partner in governing Sabah rather than a component of the coalition.
Who joined and who left
9 May 2022
The United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), led by Pandikar Amin Mulia, was accepted as a component party on 9 May 2022, having applied in January 2021. Applications from KDM, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) were left pending at that meeting.
28 August 2013
Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, a party first registered on 28 August 2013, was accepted into GRS on 9 December 2022. On 10 December 2022 Hajiji announced that Sabah Bersatu's leaders were leaving Bersatu while remaining in the coalition, and in January 2023 he confirmed he would lead Gagasan Rakyat. Bernama's list of GRS components that month named Gagasan Rakyat, PBS, STAR, SAPP and Usno.
6 April 2023
The Liberal Democratic Party and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS) were accepted as components at a supreme council meeting reported on 6 April 2023, taking GRS to seven members.
22 May 2024
Parti Cinta Sabah, led by Anifah Aman, was accepted as a component party on 22 May 2024.
2 October 2025
STAR and SAPP left the coalition on 2 October 2025, after their presidents told a GRS meeting they would contest the coming state election under their own logos. GRS secretary-general Masidi Manjun said the supreme council had decided that any component contesting under its own logo would cease to be a member.
Usno withdrew from GRS in April 2026, and Pandikar Amin Mulia resigned as GRS deputy chairman and from his state government posts. Usno's statement gave as its reason that administrative and policy compatibility no longer existed, particularly after the state election.
29 May 2026
The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) applied to join on 29 May 2026 and was unanimously accepted on 18 June 2026, becoming the sixth component party. Upko had left Barisan Nasional after 2018, joined Pakatan Harapan in August 2021 and withdrawn from Pakatan Harapan in November 2025.
Federal alignment
November 2022
In November 2022 three of GRS's components — Sabah Bersatu, SAPP and STAR — were simultaneously components of Perikatan Nasional. Hajiji said after GRS backed Anwar that the coalition's future relationship with Perikatan Nasional was unclear.
19 November 2022
16 December 2022
On 16 December 2022 GRS signed the Cooperation Agreement Among Coalitions in the Unity Government, alongside Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Warisan.
The 2025 state election and after
29 November 2025
At the Sabah state election of 29 November 2025 GRS contested in alliance with Pakatan Harapan and won 29 of the 73 elected seats, the largest bloc but short of a majority. Warisan won 25, Barisan Nasional 6, independents 5, Upko 3, STAR 2, and KDM, Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan one each.
30 November 2025
Hajiji retained Sulaman and was sworn in for a second term in the early hours of 30 November 2025 on a reported backing of 37 elected assemblypersons drawn from GRS, Upko, Pakatan Harapan and five independents.
Sabah's December 2025 cabinet announcement identified a GRS-led administration that also included one Barisan Nasional minister, one Pakatan Harapan minister and one Upko minister, with three deputy chief ministers: Joachim Gunsalam (PBS), Masidi Manjun (GRS secretary-general) and Ewon Benedick (Upko).
Where accounts differ
Party-level membership before March 2022 is not well defined. Between September 2020 and registration, GRS was an umbrella over two national coalitions — Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional — plus PBS, rather than a coalition of named parties, and Bernama described it in that period as "bukan gabungan rasmi" (not a formal coalition). The membership dates recorded here therefore start at the March 2022 registration.
The date and mechanism of Bersatu's exit from GRS were not established from the sources opened. Bersatu was one of the four parties named at registration in March 2022; Sabah Bersatu's leaders announced on 10 December 2022 that they were quitting Bersatu while staying in the coalition; and Bernama's component list of 29 January 2023 no longer included Bersatu. No report was found stating that Bersatu itself was expelled from or resigned from GRS on a particular date.
Usno's exit is dated to April 2026 rather than to a specific day. Free Malaysia Today reported the withdrawal on 22 April 2026, describing the resignation as delivered to Hajiji "semalam" (the previous day) and the supreme executive council's decision as taken "hari ini"; The Star separately dated the withdrawal only to "early 2026".
The reasons for the departures are given differently by the parties involved. Masidi Manjun said STAR and SAPP left because they would not be bound by the seat allocation being settled between GRS and Pakatan Harapan; Usno cited a loss of compatibility on administration and policy after the state election; Hajiji told a party assembly that "some leaders chose to go their own way or leave the coalition when the positions they wanted did not materialise."
The wider composition of the state government after January 2026 is reported but not confirmed from a second source: Malay Mail reported GRS backing of 45 elected seats including Barisan Nasional, Upko, Pakatan Harapan, five independents and a STAR assemblyman.
Common questions
Which parties are in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah?
Six, as of June 2026: Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, Parti Cinta Sabah and Upko, which was admitted on 18 June 2026. STAR and SAPP left in October 2025 and Usno in April 2026.
Is Barisan Nasional part of GRS?
No. Barisan Nasional parties sit in the GRS-led Sabah cabinet, but they have never been GRS component parties. When GRS was registered in March 2022, Hajiji Noor said only Bersatu, PBS, STAR and SAPP were officially in the coalition, and that BN would be an ally in governing the state.
Is GRS a registered coalition?
Yes, since 2022. The Registrar of Societies issued its certificate on 11 March 2022, and the Election Commission lists GRS among Malaysia's registered political parties. For its first 18 months, from the September 2020 state election onward, GRS operated without registration as an arrangement between existing coalitions and parties.
Is GRS the same thing as Perikatan Nasional in Sabah?
No, although they overlapped. Perikatan Nasional was one of the blocs under the GRS umbrella in 2020, and in November 2022 three GRS components — Sabah Bersatu, SAPP and STAR — were also Perikatan Nasional parties. After GRS backed Anwar Ibrahim on 24 November 2022, Hajiji said the coalition's future with Perikatan was unclear, and by January 2023 GRS was made up only of Sabah-based parties.
How did GRS stay in power after the 2025 election?
No party or coalition won a majority of Sabah's 73 elected seats. GRS was the largest bloc with 29, and Hajiji Noor was sworn in for a second term in the early hours of 30 November 2025 with reported backing from 37 elected assemblypersons drawn from GRS, Upko, Pakatan Harapan and five independents. The cabinet announced in December included ministers from Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and Upko.
Is GRS part of the federal government?
Still open
- On what date, and by what act, did Bersatu formally cease to be a GRS component party?
- On what exact date did Usno's withdrawal take effect?
- What became of the KDM application to join GRS, first reported as pending in March and May 2022?
- What is the formal composition of the Sabah state administration as of mid-2026, as distinct from GRS's own membership?