PKR Sabah open to cooperation with other parties

KOTA KINABALU (Nov 10): Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah’s doors are open to any parties that wish to cooperate with them in the coming state election.

According to its state liaison chairman, Datuk Mustapha Sakmud, the final decision would only be made after the state assembly is dissolved.

“There was an informal meeting between Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah and Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sabah.

And while the meeting was an informal one, we agreed to establish channels of communication among the parties. This is the norm as we have done the same with other parties, meaning our doors to cooperation with other parties remain open,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after attending PKR Sabah’s political bureau meeting here on Sunday, Mustapha said that they will entertain any party that reaches out to them.

“Until the state assembly is dissolved, we cannot decide who we will work with because all that will depend on the negotiation process,” he said.

Mustapha added that PKR Sabah is taking local sentiments into consideration when facing the state election.

“Even though PKR is a national party, we are Sabahans and we want sentiments that are close to the hearts of the people to be raised and resolved. These are issues such as the 40 per cent revenue owed to the state and the MA63,” he said.

On the issue of seats allocation, PKR Sabah’s election bureau chief Datuk Peto Galim said that they will be discussing the matter within the party before bringing it up to PH Sabah for consideration.

Meanwhile PKR Sabah political bureau chief Datuk Seri Panglima Christina Liew disclosed that PH Sabah is having a second round of meetings on Sunday night, adding, “if we do not resolve the matter this time round, we will have more meetings in the future. We are in the process of deciding which constituencies that are suitable for us to contest in.”

Liew who is PH Sabah chairman, expressed hope that the seat allocations can be resolved as soon as possible.

“We will discuss first among PKR Sabah and we will identify the seats that we have potential to win then we will bring the suggestion up to PH Sabah for discussion as we each have our own strengths,” she said, adding that the negotiations with other parties will be open after that.

Mustapha added that they welcome Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah’s statement that it is open to working with other parties, adding, “we agree but let PKR Sabah and PH Sabah discuss first before we negotiate with other parties.”

On the issue of autonomy of candidates, Liew said that most of the time, they will try to resolve the disputes in Sabah PKR, among themselves.

“I am not worried if people make an issue out of this one because I know based on the 25 years of experience in the party, we have always resolved our problems, especially when it comes to candidacy,” she said.