PAPAR – Sabah Star is prepared for a “free-for-all” 15th general election (GE15) given the volatile political scenario in the country, its president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan said.
The party is keeping its options open as far as seat allocations with its allies in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) is concerned, he added.
Jeffrey said a free-for-all situation, which could see allied parties contest against one another, is possible because of uncertainties among peninsula-based political parties.
“We are also watching what is going on in the peninsula because the political situation there is very fluid.
“It might be free-for-all. If it is free-for-all there, then it will also be free-for-all here,” he said this afternoon when asked on how many seats his party was eyeing in the coming polls.
Electoral seat talks have not started between the two ruling alliances in Sabah, namely GRS and Barisan Nasional (BN), but a storm is brewing between them over the matter.
GRS comprises Bersatu, SAPP, Sabah Star and Usno.
Sabah Star and Bersatu, while being components of GRS, are also in Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Umno, the leading party in BN, is already eyeing 14 seats in Sabah while Bersatu, the leading party in PN and GRS, aims to contest in six federal seats in the state.
Bersatu has the six seats after its MPs won them on Umno tickets before party-hopping, and its insistence on contesting these seats has sparked a clash between the two parties in Sabah.
Umno has already made it clear it will not work with Bersatu in GE15 and Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin had been evasive over any possible cooperation for the national polls.
On the departure of several Sabah Star divisional chiefs, Jeffrey said he was not concerned, believing their absence would not weaken the party.
He said he was informed that those who left had been offered candidacies by other parties.
The Vibes learnt that there are four divisional chiefs who have left Sabah Star to date. Some of them joined Usno, the latest addition to the GRS alliance.
Earlier today, Jeffrey received the membership of 1,000 new party members and launched Sabah Star’s Papar division’s polling machinery.
“We hope with this launching (party election machinery), we will be ready to assist in winning the parliamentary seat here in Papar, whoever the candidate may be,” said Jeffrey, adding 3,000 more will be joining the party as members soon. – The Vibes, August 11, 2022
