KOTA KINABALU: The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition does not represent a crowded political field, says Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the presence of supporting political parties in the GRS coalition was needed and welcomed in this unity government.
He said Sabah needed as many political parties to support the current government so that they could be stronger.
Kitingan, who is Sabah STAR president, said this when asked by reporters about what he thought of the latest addition of two parties - Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat), into GRS, earlier this month.
He said he does not see any problem in working with so many other parties in any circumstance or election.
"You can take this both ways whether negative or positive. But we see it in a positive light because having many parties in the coalition does not mean we contest with each other," he said.
"It only means you have a bigger support when contesting in a certain area," said Kitingan.
Asked whether there was news about Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) and other parties wanting to join the coalition, he said "We are open".
GRS now has seven members, namely Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Sabah STAR, the United National Sabah Organisation (Usno) and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) beside LDP and Harapan Rakyat.
