SHANGHAI: The political cooperation between Sabah Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan is seen to be the best move not only for the unity government but also for the state, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Umno president and Barisan chairman said it was a decision reached and agreed upon by the party at both state and national level.
“At the same time, Umno remains open should political parties in Sabah be also interested to form an alliance with us,” he said.
Sabah Umno chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin was reported to have said that the state Barisan movement was fine-tuning its political cooperation with Pakatan for the state polls.
The polls are due next year with the current legislative assembly’s term ending Oct 9.
Ahmad Zahid, however, pointed out that to form a cooperation, negative statements against Umno should be avoided.
“Parties should not label Umno as a national party or party from the peninsula that should not be in Sabah. This kind of statement is not helping build trust and bridge differences,” he told Malaysian reporters at the end of his five-day visit to China on Wednesday (Sept 12).
While the Barisan chairman did not refer to any politician in particular, he is believed to be referring to Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal who was reported to have urged Sabahans to reject national parties in the coming state polls.
Saying that Sabahans should not rely on Kuala Lumpur to solve its problems, Shafie emphasised the importance of supporting his local party to ensure Sabah has a unified voice in its efforts to develop the state.
On whether the cooperation between Barisan and Pakatan for the Sabah election is an indication of how both political coalitions would enter the 16th General Election, Ahmad Zahid said this could be worth considering.
“What we want to focus on for now is to settle the Sabah polls first.
“If the template proves to be successful, we will study on how this cooperation can be translated to national polls.
“What I can say for now is that clearly there is compatibility between Barisan and Pakatan 2.0,” he said.
