PAPAR: The announcement of the planned cooperation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the Sabah election (PRN17) should not have been issued using the letterhead of the Unity Government Secretariat, as it only involves an understanding between two coalitions.
Deputy Secretary-General of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, said action taken by the Secretariat Chief, Datuk Wira Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki — who is also Umno Sec-Gen — and PH counterpart Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, has stirred controversy in Sabah.
Which prompted a response from GRS Chairman and Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor that it may consider contesting the election on its own.
According to Armizan, the situation forced Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to clarify when questioned at a press conference in Tawau later.
“Asyraf and Saifuddin are free to issue official statements representing their respective coalitions, but the official letterhead of the Unity Government Secretariat should only be used if the stance represents a consensus among all coalition parties.
“In the Unity Government, it’s not just Umno and PH. There are many other parties, including Warisan, component parties within GRS, and others. Therefore, they should have been more careful,” he said.
Armizan, who is Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister said this while officiating Citra Tradisi event hosted his Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) at a hotel in Kinarut on Friday.
Armizan also questioned whether the Secretariat had the authority to issue an official media statement without referring to the Unity Government Leadership Consultative Council Meeting.
And whether the same body would release a similar statement in the lead-up to the Sarawak state election.
Armizan hoped Sec-Gen of the Unity Government Leadership Consultative Council, who is also Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, would look into the matter to prevent similar incidents in future.
He said while the decision to form political cooperation is the right of any party, using the Unity Government platform to announce a partnership between just two parties, is just inappropriate.
“We need to recognise the unique political landscape in Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka, and Johor, which would face state elections.
