PUTRAJAYA: Barisan Nasional (BN) is adopting a more structured strategy ahead of the 17th Sabah state election to avoid a repeat of past experiences, including the loss of seats due to party-hopping that altered the political landscape, says its chairman, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The deputy prime minister described Sabah’s political scene as fragile and dynamic, noting that contests had once seen up to 11 candidates vying for a single seat.
“Where else do you find elections with 11-cornered fights? It shows how eager people are to become candidates of new parties or to contest as independents.
“Although some may say ‘the more the merrier,’ such situations should not be taken lightly,” he told Bernama in an interview here today.
Zahid said the Sabah State Assembly would dissolve automatically on Nov 11 to pave the way for the state election, adding that several rounds of discussions on preparations had already taken place, although some were delayed by the recent floods in the state.
The Umno president was recently reported as saying that BN would not contest all 73 seats in the 17th Sabah state election and had identified the number of constituencies it deemed suitable to contest.
On Sept 5, he also announced that Sabah Umno and BN had decided not to work with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in the state polls but would maintain their cooperation with Pakatan Harapan (PH).
– Bernama
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