KOTA KINABALU: The cooperation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the next Sabah state election is aimed at building a better future for the state, not merely winning the polls, said state BN chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
He said detailed negotiations would be held between the leadership of both coalitions at the state level, including discussions on seat allocations and a coordinated approach with other like-minded parties to face the polls.
“We acknowledge that today’s political reality demands maturity and sincerity in building stability. For the sake of the state’s future, we have chosen to join forces not just to win the election, but to build a better and more well-managed Sabah.
“We respect this process and will ensure that every decision is finalised in a spirit of consensus, as set by the national-level leadership,” he said in a statement here today.
Earlier today, PH secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Unity Government Secretariat chief Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said in a joint statement that PH and BN had agreed to cooperate in the Sabah election.
They said matters of seat distribution and negotiations with other potential partners would be worked out between PH and BN leaders in Sabah.
Bung Moktar, who is also Sabah UMNO chief, said Sabah BN would mobilise its party machinery from the state level down to the grassroots with full commitment to contest the polls as a united team.
“We not only want to win, but to win with dignity and with a genuine mandate from the people,” he added, stressing the importance of political stability for Sabah’s development.
He said the party had learnt from past experiences and is now ready to build a shared future in the interest of the people of Sabah.
