KOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan are aligned on the stability and development of Sabah, and the people should reject "distorted narratives" that one is acceptable and the other is not, says former chief minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak.
"There are attempts to create the perception that in Sabah, Pakatan can be accepted but Barisan cannot. This is illogical," the Sabah Umno treasurer wrote in a Facebook post on Monday (April 28).
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"(They) are the pillars of the Madani government at the federal level. It is impossible to separate them because their objectives are the same – stability, development, and the future of the people."
Salleh said it was important for the people to be aware of the reality on the ground and not be swayed ahead of the state election due later this year.
"If we truly want to follow the (concept of only local-based parties representing the people), then all national parties, including Barisan and Pakatan, must be rejected.
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"Sabah is different. Here, stability is built through cooperation among Barisan, Pakatan, and local parties.
"What matters now is stability and the future of the people, not divisive politics.
“Stability is not achieved by choosing sides, but by uniting behind a common purpose,” he wrote amid reported ongoing behind-the-scenes trading for electoral pacts to be formed ahead of the polls.
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Much of the speculation revolves around any decision on an alliance by the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Questions remain as to whether or not Hajiji and GRS are ready to negotiate a fresh electoral pact with estranged partner Sabah Barisan/Umno, led by Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
Hajiji has indicated interest in working with Sabah Pakatan.
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Bung Moktar has said that Sabah Barisan is ready for talks with Sabah Pakatan as well as other local parties.
Sabah Pakatan has also yet to announce its electoral partner.
State opposition Parti Warisan, which is also part of the federal unity government, has maintained that it will contest the state election on its own.
