Sabah PH ‘effectively stripped of autonomy', says GRS man
Upko president Ewon Benedick previously said Sabah PH should retain its autonomy, while Sabah PKR information chief Razeef Rakimin said the local chapter was comfortable working with both BN and GRS.
PETALING JAYA : Political tensions are simmering in Sabah after the top leadership of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional announced today that all key decisions related to the state election will be 'finalised' by the national leadership.
A senior Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leader said the move 'appears to have effectively stripped Sabah PH of its autonomy'.
He said this has irked many local leaders, who insist that the direction of the state chapters and ultimately, Sabah's political destiny – should be decided by Sabahans, not figures in Kuala Lumpur.
The GRS man, who expressed disappointment with the joint PH-BN announcement, said leaving the final decision-making process to the federal leadership of both coalitions 'disregards Sabah's unique political landscape'.
'That third paragraph in the statement alone tells you everything that is wrong with how KL sees Sabah.
'It's one of the reasons why Sabahans feel sidelined as decisions about our state are dictated by people who don't live here,' he told FMT.
The GRS leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was referring to a statement by the unity government secretariat this morning, which said that discussions on the form of cooperation between BN and PH would be handled jointly by the leaderships of their state chapters.
However, the statement also said that 'all decisions will be finalised by the top leaderships of PH and BN at the national level'.
In 2023, Upko president Ewon Benedick called for Sabah PH to be allowed to retain its autonomy to ensure it was in a position to make its decisions in the interest of Sabahans.
In November last year, DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook granted the party's Sabah chapter full autonomy to negotiate collaboration with GRS for the state election, citing its better understanding of the state's political dynamics and environment.
Sabah PKR also issued a statement two months ago insisting that it had autonomy to decide on its alliances for the state polls.
Concerns over BN-GRS relationship
Within Sabah PH, the sentiment appears to be leaning towards maintaining its alliance with GRS.
Sabah PKR information chief Razeef Rakimin said the local chapter was comfortable working with both BN and GRS, adding that this had been relayed to the federal PH leadership before the pact with BN was announced.
'We told the federal leaders that we have no issue working with BN,' Razeef said.
However, he said there were concerns over the relationship between BN and GRS, which have been at war ever since Sabah Umno withdrew support for chief minister Hajiji Noor in January 2023.
'We are hoping these two parties will be able to clear up their disagreement,' he said.
GRS information chief Joniston Bangkuai said Hajiji has been unequivocal in wanting to maintain the current alliance with PH, along with a group of Sabah Umno leaders who defied party orders to withdraw their support.
'Why upset an arrangement that is working well, especially when our state reserves are growing year by year?' said Joniston.
Sabah's reserves rose from RM5.4 billion in 2022 to over RM7 billion the following year.
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