KOTA KINABALU: Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has given five incumbent assemblymen one week to reconsider their position to side with the decision to stay with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
He said if they remained with GRS, they would be dropped as candidates.
"We have many new faces who are ready to contest under the STAR logo.
"If they (the assemblymen) still do not take the opportunity to make a stand, then we will find new candidates," he told reporters upon his return to Kota Kinabalu International Airport from Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (Oct 7).
The five incumbents include two deputy presidents, Datuk Ellron Angin (Sook) and Datuk Robert Tawik (Bingkor), vice-president Datuk Abidin Madingkir (Paginatan), Datuk Annuar Ayub (Liawan) and Datuk Flovia Ng (Tulid).
The five are now backing GRS led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor after they refused to follow Kitingan's unilateral decision on Oct 1 to quit GRS over its deal to forge an electoral pact with Pakatan Harapan.
Kitingan insisted that GRS' stand to work with Pakatan was contradictory to the mood of the grassroots who prefer Sabah-only parties.
“If they (GRS) do not listen and respect the people’s sentiment, then let the people decide,” Kitingan said, in urging local parties to come together to avoid splits in the coming state election.
He said Sabah STAR and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), under its president Yong Teck Lee, have been working together for over two decades to strengthen the local party alliances.
