KOTA KINABALU – Sabah STAR is planning to woo the two assemblymen who have recently left Warisan.
Its president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan said in a statement today that he will be meeting Melalap assemblyman Datuk Peter Anthony and Limbahau assemblyman Datuk Juil Nuatim in Sook later today.
“After we extended the invitation to join STAR, I was contacted by a third party and I expect to meet them both later today,” he said, referring to Anthony and Nuatim.
Kitingan expressed his hope that Anthony will abandon his plans to form a new political party as Sabah currently has too many.
He would prefer Anthony and Nuatim to join one of the established political parties, preferably STAR.
“However, I don’t believe it would split the votes because they have already said they will support the GRS-led Sabah government. It will not undermine our unity if they are with us.
“One may argue that there are already too many Kadanzandusun Murut-based parties operating under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah banner but, at the same time, we are talking to each other.
“This is a transition period and I believe that after the next one or two steps, we will all be under one roof,” he said.
On Monday, Anthony and Nuatim confirmed their departure from Warisan over the fact that the party has opted to become a national party instead of a Sabah-focused one.
Anthony claimed that the party had gone off-track from its original struggle when it looked to expand to Peninsular Malaysia.
Given his disagreements with Warisan’s expansion plans, Anthony will be setting up a new party, but has remained mum about the details.
He only disclosed that the party has been registered and will be made public early next month.
So far, three Warisan reps have left the party for the ruling camp this year – Sebatik assemblyman Hassan A. Gani on February 25, Sindumin assemblyman Datuk Yusof Yacob on October 3, and Segama assemblyman Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi, who joined Bersatu on November 26.
On a separate note, regarding STAR’s preparation for the 15th general election, Kitingan said that while no one knows when it would take place, GRS has already activated its election machinery.
“We don’t know what the scenario in Sabah will be since, as we have seen in the past, there were many seats in which allies clashed, such as in Melaka and Sarawak.
“I hope that this time around, we will have a clear strategy to ensure a collective victory because we all want political stability,” he said.
Kitingan did not reveal how many seats STAR is seeking to contest but insisted that the party will fight to get as many seats as possible. – The Vibes, December 30, 2021
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