KOTA KINABALU: Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) President Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan will be meeting Melalap Assemblyman Datuk Peter Anthony and Limbahan Assemblyman Datuk Juil Nuatim in Sook later today.
Kitingan who is also the Deputy Chief Minister however did not specify the purpose or what is expected out of the face-to-face meeting with the former Parti Warisan Sabah vice president.
“After we extended the invitation to join STAR, I was contacted by a third party and I expect to meet them both later today,” he said referring to Anthony and Nuatim.
Kitingan expressed his hope that Anthony will abandon his plans to form a new political party as Sabah currently has too many.
He would prefer Anthony and Nuatim to join one of the established political parties, preferably STAR.
“However, I don’t believe it would split the votes because they have already said they will support the GRS-led Sabah government. It will not undermine our unity if they are with us.
“One may argue that there are already too many KDM-based parties operating under the GRS banner but at the same time, we are talking to each other.
“This is a transition period and I believe that, the next one or two steps later, we will all be under one roof,” he hinted.
In regards of STAR’s preparation for the GE15, Kitingan said that while no one knows when it would take place, GRS has already activated its election machineries.
“We don’t know what the scenario in Sabah will be since, as we have seen in the past, there are many seats where allies clashed, such as in Malacca and Sarawak.
“I hope that this time around, we will have a clear strategy to ensure a collective victory because we all want political stability,” he said.
Kitingan did not reveal how many seats STAR is seeking to contest but insisted that the party will fight to get as many seats as possible.
Earlier, Kitingan attended the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry Appreciation Ceremony 2020 and 2021 at the Shangri-la Tanjung Aru Resort.
During the event, a total of 48 ministry staff were recognised for their outstanding performance and exceeding their KPIs.
