KOTA KINABALU: Sabah STAR, part of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), is now eyeing the interior Pensiangan seat held by Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), which is a component of Barisan Nasional.
While GRS-Barisan is the state's ruling alliance, PBRS had been pushing Sabah Barisan to contest the 15th General Election (GE15) on its own.
ALSO READ: GE15: Sabah CM Hajiji in a dilemma over seats as clock winds down to polls
Declaring Sabah STAR’s designs on the seat, party president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (pic) had proposed that the party be given a chance to contest there.
Speaking during the launch of the GRS election machinery here in Pensiangan, Kitingan said letting GRS contest in Pensiangan was in line with the grassroots' wishes.
“(This is) for a friendly contest," he said in a statement on Friday (Oct 28).
On Oct 15, PBRS president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup urged Sabah Barisan to go solo in the state, saying its electoral pact with GRS will only benefit Perikatan Nasional.
ALSO READ: Pact between Sabah Barisan and GRS confusing, says Arthur Kurup
This was after Perikatan chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that GRS’ victory could be viewed as a win for the coalition.
Incumbent Pensiangan MP Datuk Arthur Kurup, who was Kurup’s son, had also said the pact between Barisan and GRS was confusing, adding that there was some apprehension after Muhyiddin's remark.
In his statement, Kitingan said things had changed politically for Sabah, with the state moving forcefully ahead to end decades of being 'led around like a buffalo' by the powers that be.
ALSO READ: Sabah STAR ready to clash with BN if it flies solo in Sabah, says party assistant sec-gen
The Deputy Chief Minister said the tables had now turned in Sabah’s favour because leaders in GRS had been consistent in fighting for the state’s rights.
"In the past, we couldn't even speak about our rights without risking being hunted down under the ISA (Internal Security Act).
"Now Malaya (as Sabahans refer to the peninsula) is chasing after us and offering us the post of deputy prime minister," he said.
Kitingan noted that there had been positive achievements including Sabah and Sarawak now being termed as wilayah, or regions, instead of states in the Federation.
While this was seen as recognition of their position as equal partners, he noted that there was still a lot of work to do which requires perseverance from a stable government and leaders.
ALSO READ: GE15: PBRS Youth backs call for Barisan to go solo in Sabah
Recounting experiences of how he was persecuted for speaking up about state rights some three decades ago, he said the journey to realise Sabah's aspirations was far from over.
"We must persevere. We need fighters to fight in the central government.
"We don’t want to be controlled by external powers. We want to be led by Sabahan fighters aligned with GRS," Kitingan said.
To this end, the state Agriculture and Fisheries Minister pointed out, Sabah no longer wanted to be seen as subordinate to the peninsula.
"We are partners with Malaya but not under them," Kitingan said.
