KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Pakatan Harapan aims to cut a deal with potential partners by March next year, says its chief negotiator Datuk Peto Galim.
Disclosing that seat negotiations among the Pakatan’s component parties nearing completion, he said it was only right to finalise the discussion with the other coalitions.
In Sabah, the two main coalitions outside Pakatan are the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government, comprising eight component parties, and Barisan Nasional (BN), which has four political parties.
Peto noted that Pakatan has had informal discussions with Sabah Barisan, focusing on strategic preparations ahead of the 17th state election which must be held by September next year.
“Other than informal ‘coffee shop’ discussions with Barisan, we have not received any formal invitations to negotiate with other parties, groups, or leaders.
“However, official negotiations must start as soon as possible, as speculation is already rife. In my view, March — or ideally earlier — is the right time to finalise matters,” he said.
Sabah PKR state leadership council chairman Datuk Mustapha Sakmud added that Pakatan is seeking a "total package" deal in its negotiations, which goes beyond seat allocations.
“We want a comprehensive agreement that includes appointed assemblymen, chairmanships of government-linked companies, roles in village committees, and other positions.
“A specific formula is needed to avoid post-election disagreements, as past experiences show such arrangements often go unfulfilled,” said Mustapha.
While Sabah Pakatan is aligned nationally with Barisan, they are more comfortable working with the ruling GRS coalition in the state.
However, Sabah Pakatan stopped short of naming a preferred partner for the upcoming state election.
On candidate selection, Peto highlighted plans to field more women and fresh faces.
“Every party hopes for strong participation from women. Currently, PKR's representation of women is limited, but we are working to improve this.
“We are also considering new faces, including women, as candidates. Their involvement will depend on the number of seats we secure, but we are confident in our strength,” said Peto.
Sabah Pakatan consists of PKR, DAP, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), and United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko).
The eight parties in GRS include Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBS), Sabah STAR, Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS), United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan), and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Sabah Barisan comprises Umno, MCA, MIC, and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).
