USNO president Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has softened his combative stance against Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor over working with a national-based alliance.
The former Dewan Rakyat speaker now backs Hajiji, saying his previous remarks were merely amplifying the sentiments of Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who had branded cooperation with peninsular-based parties as “traitorous.”
Pandikar said his views on the matter was made to gauge grassroots sentiments on whether GRS or Usno should contest independently in the Sabah election scheduled this year.
“The opinion was expressed during USNO’s roadshows to test the extent of Sabahan support for a local party’s stand, whether for USNO or GRS, if it were to go solo,” he said in a statement in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday.
His remarks follow Hajiji’s recent announcement of forming an electoral pact with Pakatan Harapan on July 27 during his party, Gagasan Rakyat, Annual General Meeting.
Hajiji is pushing for a GRS Plus formula with the eight-party alliance GRS being the dominant force in the electoral pact.
Pandikar noted he found that while many Sabahans want GRS to contest all 73 seats independently while some also believe confrontation with Putrajaya would be unwise.
The former Dewan Rakyat speaker statement marks a change to his earlier defiance where he had emerged as GRS’s most vocal internal critic, warning that the coalition risked becoming an extension of federal politics and openly urging it to “go solo” in the election.
GRS, which is led by Hajiji, is a coalition of Sabah-based parties including Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), STAR, SAPP, USNO and smaller allies.
The coalition has long wrestled with a Sabah-first vs federal cooperation dilemma with the attempt to balance Sabah’s political autonomy and practical engagement with national alliances such as PH or BN.
Pandikar maintained that USNO will remain in GRS and support Hajiji’s decision to collaborate with other parties in the 17th Sabah election, calling it a pragmatic step to secure the coalition’s dominance.
“Hajiji discussed with me personally and assured me that GRS would be putting candidates in more than 50 seats, which to me is consistent with the coalition’s war cry: ‘Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga’,” he said.
He said GRS aims to field more than 50 candidates out of Sabah’s 73 state seats and cement its lead in the ruling bloc while limiting national parties influence in the state. - August 4, 2025
