Kota Kinabalu: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) wants to maintain cooperation with Pakatan Harapan (PH), the current state government coalition, said its chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The Chief Minister said that the cooperation will be a foundation for determining political alliances for the upcoming 17th State Election. He said the matter had been conveyed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and that the outcome of the discussions regarding election cooperation would be announced soon.
“We want to cooperate. We are maintaining the current GRS-PH government...we have conveyed this to the Prime Minister. As for other matters, we will discuss them,” he said after launching the jetty and officiating the resumption of the Kota Kinabalu-Labuan passenger ferry service at Kota Kinabalu Port here.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});Hajiji was asked to comment on the progress of cooperation talks between GRS and other coalitions and parties ahead of the state election.
The Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah president said that no final decision had been made regarding the state polls as the Sabah State Legislative Assembly has yet to dissolve.
“It is not election time yet. The State Legislative Assembly has not been dissolved. Just be patient and wait; you will be informed in due course,” he added.
Meanwhile, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star Sabah) President Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan indicated his party’s intention to contest 15 seats, more than double their previous attempt.
In the 2020 state election, Star contested eight seats and won six seats, namely Bingkor, Tambunan, Paginatan, Liawan, Tulid, and Sook.
Jeffrey said the figure was an aspiration as formal discussions among coalition partners have yet to begin.
“That is normal in politics , if possible, every political party wants to contest all 73 seats. There is nothing wrong with each party expressing their aspirations,” Jeffrey said.
Parties like PKR and DAP have already announced intentions to contest 13 and 10 seats, respectively, while Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah vice president Datuk Masiung Banah hinted that Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) may contest at least 52 seats.
“These seats do not depend solely on one party. We are discussing with PBS and we are also discussing within GRS. We need to resolve these issues before we discuss with parties outside,” he said.