KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Barisan Nasional says it was only offered eight seats to contest in the upcoming Sabah polls during negotiations with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), a number that they described as an "insult".
Sabah Barisan won 14 seats in the last state polls in 2020.
Libaran MP Datuk Suhaimi Nasir said the decision to reject cooperation with GRS was painful but necessary as the terms offered were unfair.
"From the 14 seats that the voters gave Barisan in the last state election, only eight were returned to us.
"Some GRS leaders even claimed that this number was already too many for Barisan.
"That is an insult, a stab to the heart of Barisan's fighters," he said in a statement on Saturday (Sept 6).
Suhaimi said seats originally won by Sabah Barisan, including Tanjung Keramat, Pantai Dalit, Sugut, Sindumin and Tempasuk, were later lost through political defections.
He said Sabah Barisan would continue to defend these seats.
He also said GRS never had its own electoral mandate and only came into power after federal-level political changes and "political frogs" who switched allegiances.
Suhaimi further alleged that GRS was now mired in scandals involving land, forestry concessions, luxury jets and illegal licences.
"Sabah Barisan is not perfect but its service and contribution to the people cannot be denied.
"Barisan will continue to stand with the people, because this is our home, our land," he said.
