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Daily Express
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
GRS's 52-seat bid risks straining ties with national party allies, says analyst
Published on: Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Published on: Wed, May 28, 2025 By: Anne Muhammad, FMT Text Size: An analyst said a proposal for GRS to contest 52 out of 73 seats in the upcoming state polls could spark dissatisfaction among national party allies. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: An analyst has cautioned that the call for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to contest 52 out of 73 seats in the upcoming state election risks stirring discontent among its potential allies from national parties. Syahruddin Awang Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) said parties like Umno, which had a strong historical presence in Sabah, would see this as an attempt by GRS to 'take over' their seats. He added that GRS's proposal would have significant political implications on cooperation with Sabah's ruling coalition ahead of the state polls. 'An unfair seat distribution, or one that doesn't reflect the actual strength of each party, will have consequences,' he said. Lee Kuok Tiung, also of UMS, said three-cornered or multi-party contests would be unavoidable, even if GRS cooperates with national parties ahead of the state election. 'Overlapping areas are difficult to avoid,' he said. Advertisement Last Sunday, GRS vice-president Masiung Banah said GRS was expected to field candidates in at least 52 out of the 73 state constituencies at the next state polls. He said the remaining 21 seats would be allocated to national parties that agreed to cooperate with GRS. GRS and Pakatan Harapan (PH) are currently allies in the Sabah state administration while the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) sits in the opposition. PH and BN have announced an alliance for the state polls, while talks are ongoing to include GRS in the pact. On Sunday, PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar expressed hope that her party would be able to contest a minimum of 13 seats in the Sabah election. The following day, Sabah DAP deputy chief Chan Foong Hin said the state chapter was eyeing at least 10 seats in the state polls. Sabah Umno had said it hoped to contest 40 seats in the 17th state election. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Free Malaysia Today
28-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
GRS's 52-seat bid risks straining ties with national party allies, says analyst
An analyst said a proposal for GRS to contest 52 out of 73 seats in the upcoming state polls could spark dissatisfaction among national party allies. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : An analyst has cautioned that the call for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to contest 52 out of 73 seats in the upcoming state election risks stirring discontent among its potential allies from national parties. Syahruddin Awang Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) said parties like Umno, which had a strong historical presence in Sabah, would see this as an attempt by GRS to 'take over' their seats. He added that GRS's proposal would have significant political implications on cooperation with Sabah's ruling coalition ahead of the state polls. 'An unfair seat distribution, or one that doesn't reflect the actual strength of each party, will have consequences,' he said. Lee Kuok Tiung, also of UMS, said three-cornered or multi-party contests would be unavoidable, even if GRS cooperates with national parties ahead of the state election. 'Overlapping areas are difficult to avoid,' he said. Last Sunday, GRS vice-president Masiung Banah said GRS was expected to field candidates in at least 52 out of the 73 state constituencies at the next state polls. He said the remaining 21 seats would be allocated to national parties that agreed to cooperate with GRS. GRS and Pakatan Harapan (PH) are currently allies in the Sabah state administration while the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) sits in the opposition. PH and BN have announced an alliance for the state polls, while talks are ongoing to include GRS in the pact. On Sunday, PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar expressed hope that her party would be able to contest a minimum of 13 seats in the Sabah election. The following day, Sabah DAP deputy chief Chan Foong Hin said the state chapter was eyeing at least 10 seats in the state polls. Sabah Umno had said it hoped to contest 40 seats in the 17th state election.
Free Malaysia Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Barring members under 5 years from polls could kill PKR, say analysts
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli says limiting candidacies to members who have been in the party for a certain number of years would improve party discipline and ensure loyalty. PETALING JAYA : PKR runs the risk of losing capable new leaders if the party prohibits members of less than five years standing from contesting in its internal polls, say political analysts. Mazlan Ali. Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Sabah's Syahruddin Awang Ahmad said PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli's proposal would prevent younger Malaysians from using the party as a platform to bring meaningful change to the country. They said the proposal could result in stagnation within PKR's leadership, hindering the party's ability to cultivate and advance fresh, talented leaders. 'Rafizi's idea could kill off PKR and prevent it from having a dynamic leadership in the future,' Mazlan told FMT. Syahruddin said the proposed requirement would indirectly hinder the entry of fresh talent capable of bringing new ideas and perspectives to the party. Syahruddin Awang Ahmad 'This risks causing a sort of 'brain drain', with talented individuals choosing to join other parties that offer a faster path (to leadership), undermining PKR's efforts to remain relevant and dynamic in the political landscape,' he said. Rafizi had called for party rules to be amended to prevent candidates with less than five years' standing from contesting for positions, saying the move would improve party discipline and ensure loyalty. The PKR deputy president said the current system allowed newcomers to jump straight into leadership roles, sometimes with the approval of the party president, when they should 'start from the bottom'. Sungai Buloh MP R Ramanan, a former MIC treasurer-general, joined PKR in 2020 after quitting the Indian-based party six years earlier. Ramanan is vying for the post of vice-president at this year's party polls, scheduled to be held on Friday. Mazlan said a two-year period would be generally sufficient to determine if a member was loyal and committed to the party, adding that there was no need to be too restrictive. He said the requirement could vary according to the seniority of the position in the party, with a five-year prohibition proposed for those gunning to be vice-president for example. 'For posts at the grassroots level, there shouldn't be a requirement for a candidate to have been a member for five years. Maybe just a year or less to encourage the emergence of new leaders. 'But for the PKR president's post, perhaps a 10-year membership requirement followed by seven years for the deputy presidency, and so on.'
