KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Barisan Nasional does not need a middleman to talk to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) if the need arises, says its chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
He said Sabah Barisan and Sabah Pakatan Harapan had good relations and were having ongoing discussions on the coming state election, but not with GRS.
He said even if there was a need to discuss matters with GRS, Sabah Barisan can do so on its own without any go-betweens.
Furthermore, he said, any discussions to form a government are best left until after the election.
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Bung Moktar had been asked by reporters about a possible pact with GRS in the election, seeing that the Federal Government has asked Sabah Barisan to work with Pakatan and GRS.
As for whether he had met with GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor on the polls, Bung Moktar said he had not, and that there was no need for that.
“I have not met with Hajiji one-to-one to discuss this matter, there is no need,” he said on Tuesday (June 24).
Bung Moktar also said his stance of not working with GRS at this point remained.
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“I have said this many times: I will only work with parties that are sincere and do not lie. How do we work with parties that lie?” he asked.
He said that unless leaders from GRS changed their attitude and ways, there was no way Sabah Barisan would ever consider working with them.
He said sincerity meant keeping promises, sticking to agreements, not taking over others' seats, and not making abrupt changes or decisions.
“I do not like leaders who shed crocodile tears,” Bung said without referring to anyone specifically, although a video clip made the rounds recently showing Hajiji tearing up at a political event.
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On how many seats Barisan plans to contest, Bung said the number would be every seat that it could win.
“If I (can) win 40 seats, then I (will) contest 40 seats,” he said, adding that he thinks mergers would be better if they came about after the election results were known.
He said that by then, parties or coalitions would have their respective seats in hand, making it easier for each potential partner to know its role and position.
“Now, (another leader) can say he has 50 seats and I can say I have 40, but we will only know the actual number after the election.
“That's when we will know who our friends are,” he said.
