KOTA KINABALU: Pakatan Harapan, which has been weakened by a spate of defections over the last five years, is offering local Opposition party Parti Warisan Sabah a deal.
Pakatan wants Warisan leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal to give way so that they can take on more parliamentary seats in Sabah.
This offer comes in the wake of Pakatan deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin holding a meeting with state Pakatan leaders here.
Sabah Pakatan deputy chairman Stephen Wong, who is Sabah DAP chairman, said Warisan could contest 36 of the 60 state seats, while Pakatan should be given 15 of the 25 parliamentary seats at stake in Sabah.
Wong said that during the meeting with Muhyiddin, it was agreed that Shafie would lead the charge for the Opposition in the state seats, while Pakatan would contest the parliamentary seats.
“It is still open to negotiations. We hope they (Warisan) can meet us in the middle,” Wong said.
He added that he was optimistic that Warisan would see the bigger picture and accept the deal for a common objective.
Earlier, Shafie stressed that Pakatan should stay out of Sabah in the general election.
He said Warisan alone should take on Barisan Nasional although he gave an assurance that his party would give its support to the Opposition at the national level based on “mutual understanding”.
Yesterday, Sabah Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking expressed surprise at Wong’s statement, adding that he was not informed of the deal by Sabah Pakatan chairman Christina Liew, who heads Sabah PKR.
“I will make a statement after we talk to Liew,” he said. Sabah Pakatan comprises PKR, DAP and Parti Amanah Negara.
Muhyiddin has given Sabah Pakatan until the end of this month to sort out seat arrangements.
During the Pakatan meeting here, Muhyiddin said the Opposition should work as a team if they wanted change to take place.
“No single Opposition party can win this on their own, whether in Sabah or elsewhere,” he added.
Muhyiddin arrived here for the Tuesday meeting at about the same time Shafie caught a flight out.
Sabah and Sarawak have been strongly behind Barisan, as seen in the results of past elections.
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