The GRS supreme council members met for the first time after Parliament dissolved on Thursday (Oct 13).
KOTA KINABALU: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah's (GRS) supreme council members met for the first time after the dissolution of Parliament on Thursday night (Oct 13), but gave little indication on the number of seats to be shared among themselves and with their election partner Barisan Nasional.
The two-hour plus meeting that started at 8pm involved the presidents and senior leaders from the five parties in the coalition, namely Sabah Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Sabah STAR, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno).
Chief Minister and GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the meeting only endorsed working with Sabah Barisan for the 15th General Election (GE15).
"We have not discussed the candidates (for the seats) yet, we will announce that later," he told reporters who waited since 7pm at the Sabah Bersatu office in Likas here.
"But in the meeting, we emphasised on the cooperation with Barisan, that was the consensus.
"What’s important is that we must be ready to face the polls and to activate the GRS machinery, as well as to work with Barisan," he added.
Other leaders said they basically focused discussions on the preparation for the election and their strategies, explaining there was still plenty of time to talk on seat sharing as the Election Commission will only meet to decide on the nomination and polling days next Thursday (Oct 20).
"There’s still time," said GRS deputy chairman and SAPP president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee.
PBS president Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, who is also one of the three GRS deputy chairmen, confirmed that no seat discussions took place.
"Everything was about preparing for the election, looking at our strategies and preparations," said the incumbent Kota Marudu MP.
GRS secretary-general Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun was happy with the mood among GRS heavyweights in the meeting.
"Surprisingly, the meeting was very civil and had a really friendly atmosphere," said the Sabah Bersatu deputy chief.
"(The seat sharing) has not been finalised, but I see a lot of goodwill," he added.
To a question whether the meeting also touched on other ally parties looking to join GRS, he said: "Unfortunately, we could not discuss them because we were so immersed in the election preparations."
These parties were Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, Liberal Democratic Party and Parti Cinta Sabah.
However, it is understood that prior to the official GRS meeting, Hajiji and the four party presidents, namely Ongkili, Yong, Sabah STAR chief Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Usno president Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, held informal discussions over dinner earlier.
It is not clear whether the discussion centered on their respective parties' seat allocation, as well as on the formula on seat sharing with Barisan.
Both Hajiji and Sabah Barisan chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin have said that their respective coalitions have agreed to work together in GE15, but that a formula on seat sharing has yet to be agreed on officially.
Speculation is rife that Barisan has offered GRS 13 out of the 25 Sabah parliamentary seats to contest, with the remaining to be contested by Barisan.
