KOTA KINABALU – While the cooperation between the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) alliance and the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition exist in the Sabah government – in which both are represented – this is not the case as far as the elections are concerned.
Sabah BN chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin refused to give a straight answer when asked whether BN will work with GRS in the forthcoming 15th general election (GE15).
The controversial leader has consistently maintained that BN will continue to cooperate with GRS in the state government but has become evasive when asked about cooperation during the polls.
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Bung, who is also a Sabah deputy chief minister, simply said “We will announce that (our stand) at the right time.”
He also did not elaborate on the latest stand of BN or Umno stand on the matter, especially in light of them opting not to cooperate with Perikatan Nasional (PN) for the elections in Peninsular Malaysia.
Bung, who is also Sabah Umno chief and Kinabatangan MP, was met here during a visit to the Jalan Lintas flyover here today.
Similar to the situation in Sabah, the leaders of both BN and PN are staying put together because of their roles in Putrajaya.
However, none of the senior representatives of GRS and BN has been forthcoming over the questions raised about how far they are going to work together in Sabah.
Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said several times that they will not work with Bersatu in the next general election. However, Umno as the lead party in BN and Bersatu as the lynchpin in BN have been cooperative in running the federal government.
In October last year Bung had told reporters that Umno would defend all the parliamentary seats it had won in Sabah in the previous election.
He made no secret that Umno plans to contest in 14 of the 25 Sabah parliamentary seats, leaving only 11 to be shared with other parties from BN and GRS if the cooperation is still intact in the general election.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is the chief for Bersatu in Sabah and GRS.
Bung leads Sabah BN which comprises Umno, PBRS, MIC and MCA, while Hajiji leads the GRS team which comprises Bersatu, Sabah Star, SAPP and Usno. – The Vibes, August 8, 2022
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