PETALING JAYA: Sabah Bersatu leaders were bound to leave the party eventually considering Sabahans’ strong sentiment for state-based parties to lead the government, says a political analyst.
Earlier today, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman and Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor announced that Sabah Bersatu leaders had unanimously decided to leave the party and intended to form a new one.
James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said the move was part of a wider vision to localise parties in Sabah and form a Borneo bloc together with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“The idea is for all parties in Sabah to be localised,” Chin told FMT.
“The big picture is that all the (Sabah) parties want to create a Borneo bloc and to do that, they need a Sabah-based vehicle.
“They can’t do that if they are a part of a national party.”
Sabah Bersatu is an autonomous branch of Bersatu, which is part of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, with PAS and other parties, including Gerakan.
While GRS has pledged its support for Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government at the federal level, Bersatu is in the opposition as part of PN.
A day after last month’s general election (GE15), Hajiji said he received a call from his Sarawak counterpart, Abang Johari Openg, and the leaders agreed to “discuss closer collaboration as a Borneo bloc”.
The idea of a Borneo bloc was first mooted by Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Jeffrey Kitingan in 2018.
At the time, then Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president, the late James Jemut Masing, supported the idea, saying it was worth considering.
Meanwhile, another analyst agreed that today’s move was inevitable considering that GRS’ decision to join the unity government would not have gone down well with PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.
Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah also said it was important to note that Hajiji said the decision to leave Bersatu was one that was unanimously reached by Sabah Bersatu leaders during their meeting last night.
“Considering the current political scenario, they knew it was time for them to leave Bersatu,” he said.
“Hajiji has a very good relationship with Abang Johari and they have a mutual understanding in various areas like the Borneo bloc.
“For the long term, they would have definitely had to leave Bersatu anyway. The sentiment is strong for local parties in Sabah now, like in Sarawak. So, it was time to make this move.”
— Jason Thomas
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