KOTA KINABALU: Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said that there are no official discussions for any collaboration or alliance with fellow local parties Warisan and Parti KDM.
“There are no official discussions with Warisan or KDM regarding any political collaboration or alliance,” he told members during the party’s 10th anniversary gathering at a hotel here on Sunday (Aug 30).
At this point, he said that their priority was to strengthen Sabah STAR.
“We do not want to enter any coalition as a liability or find ourselves dependent on the strength of another party.
“We must build our own strength first. Otherwise, Sabah STAR risks having only a very weak voice in any political coalition or alliance,” he said.
“Our focus is clear: strengthen Sabah STAR, strengthen our position, and strengthen the voice of Sabah,” he said.
The party's position comes following disclosure by Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal earlier this month that there were informal discussions between Sabah STAR and Parti KDM led by Prescilla Peter on the possibility of forging a local-based party alliance or electoral pact for the coming general election.
Prescilla, whose native-based party withdrew its support for the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government, has also said that KDM would focus on strengthening its position ahead of the general election and kept options open to alliances with other local parties.
Kitingan’s Sabah STAR withdrew from GRS prior to the state election in November last year, winning two state seats. The party backed the formation of the GRS coalition government with Barisan Nasional, Upko, together with independents after the hung results of the election.
Warisan, which won 25 of the 73 state seats, remains in opposition at the state level.
