By The Borneo Post onSabah
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Phoong
KOTA KINABALU (April 19): Sabah Democratic Action Party (DAP) will look at policies as the first basis before determining any political cooperations for the coming state elections, said its chief, Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe.
“If you look back at history, DAP has worked with many political parties. But what’s important for us now is that Sabah is facing various challenges, so it is important that we have good policies in place to solve these problems.
“For us, the prerequisites are vital before determining any political alliances – do we have the same policies, how can we boost Sabah’s fertility rate or build more hospitals for the benefit of the people of Sabah.
“So that is DAP’s stand. We discuss about the policies first, and then we can talk about working with any party to establish a government based on those policies.
“Otherwise, the rakyat would think that we are only thinking about politics every day, which is not good for Sabah,” he told reporters after officiating the SabahCare Fertility and Specialist Centre near Damai today.
The Luyang assemblyman reiterated that DAP has not had any formal discussions with any party, including Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Barisan Nasional (BN), so far, but they are still open to working with them.
“At this point in time, we haven’t had any official talks. But if we receive an official invitation tomorrow for example, we will entertain it.
“There is no problem, we can have coffee over it. But don’t announce anything before official discussions,” he said.
GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor earlier reportedly said that GRS will be discussing with PH in the nearest future regarding possible cooperations for coming state elections.
However, the Chief Minister informed that there has not been a set date for these discussions.
Earlier on April 13, Sabah BN chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin had announced that Umno will be working with PH for the 17th Sabah elections, following a party retreat at the end of last year.
Bung said unofficial talks have been held several times with Sabah PH leaders, which will be followed by official discussions as the state assembly dissolution approaches.
Meanwhile, Gagasan Rakyat information chief Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titing said the stability of GRS and PH-led state government remains unaffected despite Sabah BN’s initiation of negotiations for an electoral pact.
Nizam stated that Bung Moktar’s stance was within his party’s rights and would not disrupt the existing GRS-Pakatan Plus collaboration.
“I won’t elaborate further — each party has its own prerogative. However, under Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s leadership, Sabah is progressing in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya vision,” said Nizam, who is also Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, during a golf tournament here today.
He highlighted the current government’s achievements, including boosting state revenue, and emphasized ongoing efforts to address legacy issues from previous administrations.
Sabah PH consists of four component parties, namely DAP, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and National Trust Party (Amanah).
It is linked to the eight-member local coalition GRS, which consists of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and United Sabah National Organisation (Usno).
Both coalitions had formed the state government via the GRS-PH Plus partnership.
