Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor (left) and Sabah Umno chief Datuk Bung Moktar Radin.
KOTA KINABALU: A proposal for Sabah Umno to collaborate with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, in the upcoming state election is facing significant opposition.
More than two-thirds of the 25 Sabah Umno division leaders, led by Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, have communicated to the Umno leadership their reluctance to work with Hajiji.
Hajiji, who leads Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat), heads GRS, which is currently working with Sabah Pakatan Harapan after Bung withdrew Sabah Barisan from the state coalition in January 2023.
Reports indicate that 22 out of the 25 Sabah Umno divisions have rejected a proposal by Pakatan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for Barisan, GRS, and Pakatan to form an electoral pact for the state election due by September this year.
Anwar's proposal, aimed at creating an electoral pact involving key parties with the federal Unity government, suggested that the 73 state seats be shared equally among the coalitions.
Sources revealed that Anwar presented the proposal to Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and several Sabah Barisan Umno leaders earlier this year during a meeting.
However, Sabah Umno sources stated that most divisions have rejected the idea of working with Hajiji and GRS, whom they accuse of not honouring a pre-signed coalition deal before the September 2020 snap Sabah election.
The source argued that an electoral pact with GRS was unwise, citing the party's failure to address basic issues and allegations of corruption involving mining licences against its leaders.
According to Sabah Umno sources, PGRS also sought to re-field at least eight Umno assemblymen who defected to GRS when Sabah Umno withdrew from the coalition.
"It does not make sense to work with PGRS," the source said, noting Sabah Umno's criticism of the GRS government over the past two years.
A senior Sabah Umno official, who declined to be named, said, "The fact remains that Sabah Umno was cheated by Hajiji and GRS. They never respected our deal, which is among the main reasons we withdrew our support."
However, the source noted that Sabah Umno is open to a working relationship with Sabah Pakatan but not with GRS.
Bung, who has previously declared Sabah Umno's refusal to work with GRS, declined to comment on the latest developments.
Currently, all major Sabah parties with elected representatives at the state and national levels are part of the federal unity government.
Sabah Barisan under Bung has remained outside the GRS state government, while Parti Warisan, led by Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, has declared itself as the opposition to the GRS state government.
Parti KDM, led by Datuk Peter Anthony, has also stayed out of the GRS-led state government.
Shafie's Warisan has thus far refrained from electoral pacts, though observers expect new alliances could form among anti-GRS parties ahead of the election.
Political discussions suggest that not all GRS partners agree with the idea of working with Pakatan and Barisan in the coming election, with some GRS partners potentially seeking fresh political alliances.
