KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno does not care if Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) decides to go solo or merge with anyone in the coming 17th state election, says its chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
He said that as far as Umno was concerned, many GRS leaders could not be trusted and had breached signed agreements.
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Asked about GRS' direction for the polls on Monday (July 14), Bung Moktar said that if the coalition has decided, it should just go ahead and say so without further twists and turns.
“It’s not that difficult.
“I have said many times, I do not trust and have no confidence in GRS,” he said, adding that leaders who jump from one party to another are traitors who only think for themselves, and would eventually betray the people.
“So I do not care about this GRS,” said Bung Moktar, who withdrew his support from the state government in January 2023, claiming that many agreements made in the 2020 state election were not honoured by GRS, led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
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Over the weekend, there was a growing push from grassroots supporters in Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Sabah STAR for the state ruling coalition to go into the polls on its own.
With the Sabah State Legislative Assembly due to be dissolved by Nov 11, political parties have been locked in discussions over possible electoral pacts.
The situation remains fluid amid local political rivalries and a groundswell of support for Sabah to regain its autonomous rights through local parties.
GRS is in a coalition with Sabah Pakatan Harapan in the state government, while Barisan Nasional remains in the opposition in Sabah.
Sabah Barisan and Sabah Pakatan are discussing an electoral pact, while Hajiji is keen to work with Sabah Pakatan, without Barisan.
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On the question of candidates, he said the matter was being carefully discussed and planned with the party's state election director, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak.
Bung Moktar, who will defend his Lamag seat, said candidates would be selected based on their ability to win, not their connections.
He also said that Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya (Tanjung Keramat) and state Assistant Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy (Tanjung Batu) will not be fielded in this state election.
Both went against the party’s decision to withdraw its support for GRS in 2023 and supported Hajiji as Chief Minister.
