KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno refuses to become a tool in any political game plan, especially one fuelled by panic, says Sabah Umno strategic director Datu Rosman Datu Ahir Zaman.
He said the party was capable of facing the coming state election on its own.
Reiterating his stand to not work with coalitions that are dishonest, insincere, and capable of stabbing their partners in the back, he said an electoral pact was about sincerity and integrity just as much as it was about seat sharing and candidate selection.
ALSO READ: Pakatan to avoid clashes with BN, GRS in Sabah polls
He said his stance meant that Datuk Masiung Banah’s recent statement – that an electoral pact involving Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Barisan was unlikely – was a good thing.
“Sabah Barisan Nasional welcomes this statement from Masiung, who rejects the proposal to have a three-cornered pact involving GRS, Sabah Pakatan Harapan and Barisan,” Rosman said on Tuesday (Aug 5).
He said, as ironic as it was for this statement to come from a "frog" and "opportunist", it also meant that any such pact would not be based on political struggle but on the fear of losing.
Rosman also denied that Sabah Barisan's withdrawal of support for the GRS government in January 2023 was a betrayal.
ALSO READ: Don't close the door on possible alliances, Zahid tells Sabah Umno
Instead, it was a reaction to the growing greed for power within the administration, he added.
“If any GRS leaders accuse Barisan leaders of stabbing them in the back, they should look in the mirror and recall how they formed the state government without the mandate from the people,” he said.
“Sabah Barisan remains firm in our stand that we will not be part of a pact that doesn't work on the principle of togetherness,” he said.
ALSO READ: Sabah polls: PH has a delicate balancing act to pull off, says former CM Salleh
He also described any pact made just to prevent clashes in seats as a "panic pact" that was "beautifully disguised" to mutually cover one another's weaknesses.
“Barisan refuses to become a tool in any panic pacts,” he stressed.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had stated his intention that GRS, Barisan and Pakatan should work together in the Sabah election.
GRS and Barisan, its former ally turned foe, have yet to reach an agreement. Pakatan has said it can work with either or both of them.
