KOTA KINABALU: All is well within the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) family, says Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The Chief Minister had a high-tea meeting with all seven presidents of the GRS component parties at the official chief minister residence at Sri Gaya here on Wednesday (May 7), which he described as cordial.
"All presidents had pledged to ensure GRS’s victory in the coming elections,” he said.
"I appreciate their views and opinions. They are all matured political leaders and understood the importance of GRS as a united front going into the elections," said Hajiji, who is GRS chairman and Gagasan Rakyat president.
The meeting lasted around three hours with Parti Bersatu Sabah acting president Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, Sabah Star president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Usno president Tan Sri Pandikar Amin present.
Others were Parti Cinta Sabah president Tan Sri Anifah Aman, Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, Liberal Democratic Party president Datuk Chin Su Phin and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah president Tan Sri Liew Yun Fah.
Also present was Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) deputy president Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
This meeting came amid brewing tensions between certain component parties within the GRS over seat sharing for the Sabah state polls due anytime by November this year.
Though the ruling state coalition has yet to officially discuss the seat-sharing formula, internal discussions have suggested that a loose framework has emerged, with allocations of either a single seat or none being offered to some of the component parties.
Pandikar, whose party is eyeing at least eight seats, sparked a public spat when he urged his GRS colleagues not to underestimate his party, which aims to contest native Muslim stronghold seats currently held by the opposition Parti Warisan in the east coast and northern Sabah.
Junior leaders from Hajiji’s Gagasan Rakyat then called on the Usno president to leave if he was unhappy.
Other GRS leaders, including Kitingan and Yong, responded strongly, criticising the junior leaders of Gagasan Rakyat for their disrespectful behaviour and political immaturity.
Yong reminded them that no single party could become powerful like the Barisan Nasional-led Umno period, as its total power ended in the 2018 general election.
Kitingan called for respect for senior leaders and said that all parties, even without seats in the coalition, should be given due respect.
Yong, a former chief minister, is currently a nominated assemblyman, while Usno does not hold a seat in the 79-member assembly.
Sabah STAR, which has six seats, together with Usno and SAPP, are keen for GRS to go into the election without any electoral pact with Sabah Pakatan Harapan Plus.
However, Hajiji, whose Gagasan Rakyat holds 26 seats, including nominated assemblymen, has indicated that he wants to forge a pact with Pakatan, which is currently part of the state coalition.
Other GRS parties are Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), which holds seven seats, led by Joachim, and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat) with one seat, led by Liew.
Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) do not have any seats.
GRS has a total of 46 assemblymen, including more than a dozen who crossed over from Umno and Warisan to join Gagasan Rakyat and Harapan Rakyat just before the anti-hopping law was passed in Sabah in mid-2023.
Sabah Pakatan has seven seats, while Warisan has 14.
Sabah Barisan has 13 seats, including two suspended assemblymen, supporting Hajiji.
All parties are part of the Federal Government.
PAS, though in the Opposition in the federal level, is backing GRS at the state level.
