KOTA KINABALU: New formula and mindsets are needed when teaming up with other political parties in the 15the General Election, said Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).
Its president Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said this included cooperation with national or peninsula-based parties, despite calls for a pact among local parties instead.
Reiterating that there have been discussions with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) on the possibility of forming a Borneo-based bloc, he said nothing concrete had come out of it yet.
“There is a lot of urging to work with Sarawak (GPS) but they said the issue is Sabah has non-Sabah based parties like Umno and Bersatu, so it is something to analyse.
“Of course, there’s this vision of Sabah-Sarawak coalition and lots of pressure for (teaming up with) local parties.
“When it comes to voters in Sabah, there are comments like Umno is no longer relevant here... but then they (Umno) contest and win many seats.
“So we have to find new formulas for cooperation to work together, even with KL-based parties,” he said during a dialogue with professionals here on Thursday (May 5) night.
Ongkili said for PBS, the party is studying the situation and will choose partners based on the situation nearer to the deadline.
Asked how that will work since PBS is part of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government coalition, he said PBS will follow the pact’s decision unless it is something unacceptable for the party.
“We will view based on the situation as a member of the coalition. We want to cooperate but if any consensus can’t be achieved, then the party has to make its own decision.
“We are identifying areas where PBS is strong so we can deliver for GRS.
“But we (GRS) need to have more meetings. Because we do not want to lose out to the opposition,” he added.
He also said that illegal immigrants and equal development with Peninsular Malaysia are among issues that would be important to Sabahans during the election.