PETALING JAYA: Any decision by Perikatan Nasional to back Gabungan Rakyat Sabah at the coming state election will likely be driven by desperation, according to an analyst.
University of Tasmania’s James Chin said PN was “very weak” in Sabah, with PAS unpopular in the state while most of Bersatu’s elected representatives have defected to GRS.
For that reason, he said, PN may have no choice but to work with GRS.
PAS only holds one seat in the 79-seat state assembly, with its representative, Aliakbar Gulasan, among six nominated members of the legislative assembly.
More than 10 of Sabah’s Bersatu assemblymen quit the party during the 2023 “Kinabalu Move” incident and became direct members of GRS after the state polls, including chief minister Hajiji Noor (Sulaman), Masidi Manjun (Karanaan) and Rubin Balang (Kemabong).
On Sunday, PAS deputy election director Annuar Musa said PN should support GRS in the upcoming Sabah polls as PH and BN have already announced their own alliance.
Annuar, a former Umno secretary-general, said PN should study the option of contesting under the GRS banner, or sit out the polls altogether.
Sabah PN chairman Ronald Kiandee however criticised Annuar for his comments, saying he ought to have brought the matter up at the coalition’s Supreme Council meeting before airing his views in public.
Kiandee said Sabah’s ever-shifting political landscape makes it challenging for any party, including PN, to take a firm stance on alliances.
Chin however said that GRS was unlikely to link up with PN and would prefer an alliance with PH. PH could probably also help GRS rebuild ties with BN, he added.
Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, of strategic advisory firm ADA Southeast Asia, was on the same page as Chin, saying PAS and Bersatu’s brand of politics would not resonate well with the Sabah electorate.
After meeting Hajiji yesterday, PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim expressed optimism that the three coalitions could come to an electoral agreement.
Anwar also said PH has given the GRS chairman its full support to lead discussions on the potential three-coalition alliance.
Bilcher Bala of Universiti Malaysia Sabah suggested that, to sweeten the deal for GRS, PH-BN could offer key positions in the state government, assurances of autonomy in local governance, and a clear, mutually beneficial development agenda for Sabah.
Meanwhile, Asrul said Hajiji might consider forming an alliance with PH-BN if Umno was willing to relinquish its claim to seats held by assemblymen who defied party orders to retract their support for Hajiji’s administration in January 2023.
Sabah Umno and GRS have been at odds ever since.
