KOTA KINABALU: Senior leaders of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) have been taken by surprise over its chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s announcement that GRS has decided to work with Pakatan Harapan in an electoral pact for the coming state polls.
The leaders who declined to immediately give an official comment said they were unaware of any decision made by the GRS supreme council that formalised a working relationship, as no meeting had been held on the matter.
“I don’t know”, a senior leader told The Star, declining to be named for the moment, as he wanted to discuss the development further with other GRS leaders.
At least four GRS component party leaders who have been contacted said that there has been no discussion on it.
One of the leaders said, “I thought he was going to announce going solo”
Earlier on Sunday (July 27), GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor had told reporters that the electoral pact was agreed between GRS and Pakatan. When asked if the matter had been discussed between GRS component parties, he said: “already discussed”.
Hajiji leads Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat), which is the anchor party of GRS.
The other components are Parti Bersatu Sabah led by Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, Sabah Star under president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) under former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, Parti Usno led by former Dewan Rakyat Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia; Parti Cinta Sabah led by former foreign minister Tan Sri Anifah Aman, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Datuk Chin Su Phin, and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat) under Tan Sri Liew Yun Fah.
Sabah Star, PBS, SAPP, and Usno have publicly voiced the need for GRS to go solo in line with aspirations for local parties to rule Sabah, similar to Sarawak’s Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
It is not clear whether Sabah Pakatan parties have been put in the loop on the pact, but Sabah PKR chief Datuk Mustapha Sakmudon on Sunday confirmed that the party has had discussions with GRS, and that he welcomed the development.
However, it is still unclear if the other three component parties in Pakatan - Upko, DAP and Amanah- have agreed or were informed of the decision.
The two national coalitions, Pakatan and Barisan have already begun discussions on seat sharing.
Both GRS and Sabah Barisan do not want to work with each other.
