KOTA KINABALU: Applications from political parties to join Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) should be accepted to strengthen the coalition, says Sabah STAR president Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.
He said Sabah STAR welcomes any political parties to join the GRS coalition as it would bring together state leaders under one umbrella.
He said GRS had received applications from a number of local political parties interested in becoming part of the coalition.
“Right now, we are divided. We have too many political parties competing with one another. The major reason for the formation of GRS is to bring together the leaders, and ultimately the people under one umbrella.
“However, there are still far too many political parties in Sabah. We must learn to unite and work together," he said in his speech at the launch of the GRS tour of Sabah in the interior Keningau district Sunday (Aug 28).
"That is why, I wholeheartedly endorse that we should welcome those who have applied to be a part of GRS.
"Rather than making them our competitors, we should collaborate with them,” he said at the event launched by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Apart from Sabah STAR, GRS comprises Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and Usno.
At least four local parties - Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) led by Datuk Peter Anthony, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan Rakyat) led by Tan Sri Liew Yun Fah, Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) led by Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Datuk Chin Su Phin have applied to join GRS.
GRS has yet to make a decision on whether to accept any of these parties.
Earlier in his speech, Kitingan, who is Deputy Chief Minister, said GRS will continue to demand equality for Sabah particularly in the wealth distribution among Malaysia's three regions - Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
“Keningau, for example, is larger than Penang, Melaka and Perlis combined. Yet, we only have one parliamentarian and three assemblymen. The three states have a total of 26 MPs and 83 assemblymen.
“Say for example, one MP is allocated RM10mil, the three states that are smaller than Keningau will receive RM260mil while we are only allocated RM10mil. If one assemblyman is given a RM1mil development fund, they will receive RM83mil, as opposed to our RM3mil.
“Is it then any wonder, given the huge disparity in fund distribution, that we are still lagging well behind these other Peninsular Malaysian states?” he said.
Kitingan said the problem with Sabah was its over-reliance on the Federal Government for funds, a problem which prompted the GRS government to explore leveraging its key resources under its control such as land and forests, including carbon trading.
