KOTA KINABALU: The collaboration between Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) needs to be translated at the grassroots level ahead of the next Sabah state election, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) president Datuk Ewon Benedick (pix) said.
Ewon, also the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives said at the grassroots level, many aspects related to this collaboration need to be realised, especially in terms of political appointments and maintaining balance in public administration.
“I welcome the statement issued by my colleague Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali regarding the collaboration between GRS and PH, and indeed, this collaboration is being implemented at the state government level.
“However, there are still many issues related to this collaboration that need to be realised, especially in terms of sharing of political appointments and resolutions from the PH components seeking support from the state government. This requires cooperation,” he said in a statement today.
Yesterday, Armizan, who is also GRS deputy secretary-general, said the existing unity between the coalition and Pakatan Harapan (PH) should continue in the next state elections.
UPKO is one of PH’s component parties along with PKR, DAP, and Amanah.
Ewon said so far, there hasn’t been ‘clear-cut’ collaboration between GRS and PH, especially at the grassroots level.
However, he added that he would leave it to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and the state government leadership, including the two PH representatives in the state cabinet, to interpret how this can be worked out.
Meanwhile, he said that in facing the state polls, GRS and PH need to engage in fresh discussions to formulate new plans, including the distribution of seats to be contested.
He pointed out that the situation during the 16th state election in 2020 and the current political situation was significantly different, and therefore, disagreed with the view that certain seats are the absolute property of any one particular party. – Bernama
