STAR stays firm in not wanting national parties contest in Sabah polls

KOTA KINABALU (Sept 23): Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) remains firm in its stance of not wanting national based parties to contest in the 17th state election.

Its president, Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, said that while this is his position, it is up to national parties to decide whether they want to contest or not.

The Deputy Chief Minister said this when asked if he still stick to his stand that no peninsular-based parties contest in the next election.

“I can say anything, but it is up to them. But I am consistent in my stand. I don’t want to say anything about who can stand and who cannot,” he said when met here after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to develop coconut plantations in Tambunan.

When asked to comment on Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor’s statement that Sabah has not yet reached the point of becoming like Sarawak because it still needs the cooperation of national parties, Jeffrey stressed, “key word here is cooperation.

“And we cooperate with any party from the past to the present. And the future will be the same. Maybe the perception and interpretation of people are different.

“But when it comes to cooperation, we are the same,” he said.

On Saturday, Hajiji who is also Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) president, said that Sabah is not ready to follow in Sarawak’s footsteps of forming a political alliance involving only local parties for the upcoming State Election.

This is because Sabah still needs cooperation between local parties through Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) with other national parties, Hajiji said when officiating Gagasan Rakyat Sindumin Division annual general meeting.

The current GRS-Pakatan Harapan (PH) Plus coalition, which forms the state government, is a pre-established arrangement for Sabah, and it will be maintained in the upcoming state election, he said.

“In politics, we must work with our partners, and this is what we are doing in GRS now — we must be united. We also need to collaborate with the national parties that are present in Sabah.

“This is our ‘setup’ in Sabah; we have not yet reached the stage of Sarawak. Whether we like it or not, this is the reality in Sabah. What is important is that we strengthen unity within GRS with our partners in PH and others.

“If we cooperate, avoid sabotage, and help each other, I am confident we can easily win the state election,” he said.