Pn In Early Talks With Local Parties For Sabah Polls

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Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee is expected to lead Perikatan Nasional’s charge in the upcoming Sabah election. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: Perikatan Nasional (PN) has held preliminary discussions with several local parties over a possible alliance in next year’s state election, a Sabah Bersatu leader says.

State Bersatu secretary Yunus Nurdin said Sabah PN was unperturbed by the exit of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), and that talks had been held with multiple local parties in line with Sabah’s political dynamics which had seen local parties gaining more prominence.
“Yes, there have been discussions with several local parties but we have not made any decisions yet. For now, we’re going solo on paper, but collaborations may happen (for the state polls).
“We don’t know for sure. The central PN leadership will decide,” the Libaran Bersatu chief added, declining to name specific parties.
He said the discussions were focused on seat allocations with the aim of achieving a win-win situation for all involved.
Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee is expected to lead PN’s charge in the upcoming Sabah election.
SAPP president Yong Teck Lee announced the party’s exit from PN last Saturday, citing a long-standing policy that all 73 Sabah state seats should be contested only by local parties.
Yunus meanwhile was confident that PN would secure voter support in the upcoming state polls, citing Bersatu’s position in Sabah which he said remained unaffected despite all its elected representatives, including chief minister Hajiji Noor, leaving the party in December 2022.

“PN has its own strength. Even though Hajiji left, the grassroots support hasn’t wavered. That’s why we quickly re-established and strengthened Bersatu in Sabah,” he said.
PN won 17 seats in the 2020 state election. Eleven of them were secured by Bersatu representatives while six were won by Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR).
STAR, led by Jeffrey Kitingan, also left PN in December 2022 and became part of the Hajiji-led Gabungan Rakyat Sabah. - FMT

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