An analyst has cautioned that the call for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to contest 52 out of 73 seats in the upcoming state election risks stirring discontent among its potential allies from national parties.
Syahruddin Awang Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) said parties like Umno, which had a strong historical presence in Sabah, would see this as an attempt by GRS to “take over” their seats.
He added that GRS’s proposal would have significant political implications on cooperation with Sabah’s ruling coalition ahead of the state polls.
“An unfair seat distribution, or one that doesn’t reflect the actual strength of each party, will have consequences,” he said.
Lee Kuok Tiung, also of UMS, said three-cornered or multi-party contests would be unavoidable, even if GRS cooperates with national parties ahead of the state election.
“Overlapping areas are difficult to avoid,” he said.
Last Sunday, GRS vice-president Masiung Banah said GRS was expected to field candidates in at least 52 out of the 73 state constituencies at the next state polls.
He said the remaining 21 seats would be allocated to national parties that agreed to cooperate with GRS.
GRS and Pakatan Harapan (PH) are currently allies in the Sabah state administration while the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) sits in the opposition.
PH and BN have announced an alliance for the state polls, while talks are ongoing to include GRS in the pact.
On Sunday, PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar expressed hope that her party would be able to contest a minimum of 13 seats in the Sabah election.
The following day, Sabah DAP deputy chief Chan Foong Hin said the state chapter was eyeing at least 10 seats in the state polls.
Sabah Umno had said it hoped to contest 40 seats in the 17th state election.
