KOTA KINABALU: The political temperature is heating up between Pakatan Harapan component Upko and its Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ruling coalition partner Gagasan Rakyat.
The issue of the seat-sharing formula ahead of state polls, due before September next year, has drawn Upko and the GRS anchor party into a public war of words.
Gagasan Rakyat supreme council member Datuk John Ambrose had on Tuesday (Feb 6) criticised Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick for suggesting seat allocation among coalition parties should be distributed with a fresher outlook in the Sabah elections.
Ambrose said partners in the GRS-led government should stop demanding more seats, and that talks on seat distribution should only take place after the dissolution of the state assembly.
On Wednesday (Feb 7), Upko secretary-general Nelson W. Angang hit back, saying the party was entitled to express its intention to contest for more seats.
In defending his president's request, Angang said most if not all parties would want a larger seat allocation even if they had yet to publicly express the desire.
"At least Upko is honest and makes its intention clear (as) the current political scenario in the country and Sabah is something new and unique where we have a unity government," he said in a statement.
"New and fresh approaches must be made if there are intentions by other parties to form a coalition in the coming state election.
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"If there are those who still cling to the old ways of thinking, that one party can dominate and make a unilateral decision ignoring the views of others in a coalition, then be prepared to face extinction," Angang stressed.
Benedick made the fresh seat-sharing suggestion on Sunday (Feb 4) as a way to prevent any party from "staking claims" on seats they contested or held before, and to ensure fairer distribution in the coming elections.
"As all parties will start to request seats, it is best that discussions are held first with a newer and fresher approach," he said.
This was not received well by Ambrose, who subsequently questioned Upko's ability to secure more seats considering it only won one seat in the snap state election on Sept 26, 2020.
In response, Angang said while Upko only obtained one state seat in 2020, it had against all odds captured two parliamentary seats in GE15 in 2022.
"Winning two seats with Pakatan in the last general election was something most did not believe Upko was capable of.
"Some attributed it to the wisdom of the leaders in Upko in making the right decision of choosing the right partner and being part of Pakatan.
"If you disrespect one party in a coalition like Pakatan, then you disrespect the rest of the parties in that coalition," he said.
Upko Youth chief Felix Joseph Saang was also perplexed by Gagasan Rakyat's criticism of his party for speaking up about seat sharing.
"The irony is, GRS components have previously stated openly that they (GRS) should contest all 73 state seats ... Why was this not criticised by (Ambrose)?
"Upko has never made such a claim," he said, referring to reports that GRS components Sabah STAR, Usno and the Sabah Progressive Party preferred the ruling state coalition to go it alone in the coming state polls.
