KUALA PENYU: Prior to the 17th State Election (PRN17), it is essential to formalise any collaborative efforts aimed at uniting with other entities to confront the PRN through a binding agreement, said Sabah UMNO Chief Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin.
He said that the experience of joining forces with other parties after the previous state election provided valuable lessons for UMNO to be more cautious in choosing coalition parties this time.
“We have gone through agreements made after the last PRN to form the state government; however, after the government was formed, UMNO was left like a party, ‘Melukut di tepi gantang’ even though UMNO obtained more seats than other parties.
“Therefore, this experience should be a lesson, and any form of collaboration with other coalition parties to face the PRN should be made before the election takes place,” he said.
Bung made these remarks after officiating the UMNO Beaufort division representative meeting at the Datuk Shahbandar Makang Community Hall near here recently.
Also present were UMNO Supreme Council members Datuk Rafi Alli Hassan, Sabah UMNO Treasurer Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak, Datuk Yakub Khan, Datuk Siti Aminah Aching, UMNO Sabah Representative Haji Abdul Rahman Noh, and Beaufort UMNO Division Chief Datuk Awang Aslee Lakat.
Bung, who is also an UMNO Supreme Council member, acknowledged that in the upcoming PRN, no dominant party will be able to form a government without any collaborative cooperation with other parties.
Therefore, he said UMNO Sabah will be more cautious and only engage in collaboration with parties that respect the signed agreements.
“We will collaborate with political parties that respect each other’s agreements and benefit UMNO and Sabah.
“We will also look for partners who have loyalty and sincerity in carrying out responsibilities as a partnership to fight for the rights of the people of Sabah,” he said.
