KOTA KINABALU: Sabah DAP is targeting more than 10 seats in the 17th Sabah Election (PRN17), says its deputy chairman Datuk Chan Foong Hin.
He said the decision was made during the party's recent state retreat but remains subject to negotiation with coalition partners under the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional pact.
Chan said the party aims to defend its four state seats, namely Tanjong Papat, Kapayan, Likas and Luyang, as well as the two seats where its representatives defected to Warisan, namely Sri Tanjong and Elopura.
In the previous state election, Sabah DAP contested seven seats.
Apart from DAP, the Pakatan coalition in Sabah includes PKR, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) and Parti Amanah Sabah.
On PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar's statement about contesting at least 13 seats in the state polls, Chan said the final allocation depends on consensus within Pakatan.
"Once there is consensus within Pakatan on seat allocation, only then can we begin formal negotiations with other coalitions," he said on Monday (May 26).
In the 2020 state election, DAP contested under the Warisan logo, while PKR and Upko used their own party symbols, collectively winning nine seats.
Chan said the upcoming state polls will be more complex than the 2020 election, involving three major blocs – the Pakatan-Barisan pact, GRS and Warisan.
"For other groups, there is interest in collaboration but formalising these discussions takes time," he said.
Chan said, for now, everything remains open.
"Nothing is set in stone. Each coalition must finalise its internal consensus before moving forward," he said.
