No Need For Star To Leave Grs Coalition Info Chief Says

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Gabungan Rakyat Sabah information chief Joniston Bangkuai has dismissed calls by a Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) leader for the party to leave the coalition.
Joniston (above), who is also Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) information chief, said the status quo remains unless his party and Star’s top leaders make a new decision later.
He added that the current decision to stay with GRS was affirmed during a joint meeting on Aug 27.
“I take it as a stand because this was a meeting among the top leadership of both parties.
“So, for me, if the leaders of both parties do not have anything new, that remains the stand of the two parties, isn’t it?” he told reporters in Kota Kinabalu today.
On Sunday, Star’s Sulaman division chief, Kalakau Untol, urged Star to “make a clean and bold break” from GRS, saying Sabahans were “tired of endless political games that put coalition deals above the real struggles of ordinary Sabahans.”
The former Tuaran MP warned that remaining in GRS risked “silencing Star’s founding struggle” and alienating grassroots supporters.
Inclusivity matters
However, Joniston reminded Kalakau that the joint position of PBS and Star was not arrived at lightly, adding that any move to leave GRS would require careful deliberation and must take into account the coalition’s inclusive character.
Star’s Sulaman division chief Kalakau Untol“What matters is, there has to be inclusivity. We talk about GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak). And this GRS is similar to GPS, where the emphasis is on inclusivity.
“As we all know, in Sarawak, PBB can govern the state by itself. However, they chose to accommodate other parties. We want inclusivity, so I think all this has to be taken into account.
“So, if we were to go solo, what would that mean? We were promoting inclusivity within GRS, and then, we made a decision that shows that we will have to break away from the bigger group in GRS, isn’t it?” he asked.
‘GRS remains in charge’
Joniston also stressed that while GRS had agreed to share seats with Harapan, the coalition remained firmly in charge, which is something Kalakau should consider.
“The GRS supreme council has already made a decision that we will be contesting 55 seats.
“And the remaining 18 seats are for Harapan. So that shows that we want to be dominant, and that is most important,” he said.
Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji NoorIn May, GRS chairperson Hajiji Noor stated that he would like to maintain cooperation with Harapan.
The Sabah chief minister also said that the cooperation will be a foundation for determining political alliances for the coming state election. - Mkini

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