KOTA KINABALU: Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, which have formalised an electoral pact for the state election, are still open to accommodating Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), says Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
The Sabah PKR chairman said there was still space for discussions with GRS and other local parties to be part of a larger electoral pact involving both local and national parties.
"We are still open to cooperation with GRS. Let us avoid clashes or conflicts.
"We know that GRS wants to be the dominant party in the state government and we respect that," he told reporters after opening an education exhibition at North Borneo University College here Saturday (May 10).
Mustapha believes that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who is GRS chairman, could discuss further the issue of cooperation when Pakatan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim attends the closing of the state-level Madani Rakyat programme in Tawau on Sunday (May 11).
Mustapha said the announcement for the Sabah electoral pact between Pakatan and Barisan on Friday (May 9) was made by the leadership in Kuala Lumpur and was done after consultation with Sabah Pakatan leaders.
Hajiji, who has been seeking a pact with Pakatan without estranged Sabah Barisan, immediately responded that GRS would go solo if the Pakatan-Barisan pact goes ahead.
"We hope for early discussions with GRS in line with the Prime Minister's aspiration to preserve the unity of the federal government. If possible, we want to bring that unity to the state level as well.
"If GRS ultimately decides to go solo, it is their prerogative. We are prepared for all possible scenarios, including the worst-case one," Mustapha said, adding that different scenarios in politics were normal.
"We try to avoid clashes, but if they happen, we will face them," he said, adding that the final decision is made by the voters.
GRS has been in a coalition government with Sabah Pakatan since January 2023 after Sabah Barisan led by Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin pulled out their support for Hajiji and GRS.
