PETALING JAYA: An analyst has urged Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to work out a "win-win" formula among its component parties ahead of the 16th general election (GE16) or risk weakening Sabah’s voice at the federal level.
Arvin Tajari of Universiti Teknologi Mara said negotiations were important so that each party could pursue its interests without undermining cohesion in the coalition.
"Maintaining this unity and cohesion is important to ensure that the voice carried is one, not seen as divided and lopsided," he told FMT.
"This is important to ensure that unity holds, especially in bargaining with the federal government, so that leadership conflicts do not become something that slows down negotiations."
He was commenting on GRS chairman Hajiji Noor’s call at the coalition’s convention on Oct 18 for component parties to put the interests of Sabah and the coalition ahead of personal or individual party interests to strengthen the state’s bargaining power with Putrajaya.
The chief minister said the decision by "some parties" to leave the coalition and go it alone should serve as a lesson, urging GRS to reinforce the principles on which it was founded in 2020, particularly stability in Sabah.
Among the parties that left GRS were STAR, led by Jeffrey Kitingan, and the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), led by Yong Teck Lee. Both quit the coalition ahead of the state election in November 2025, although STAR later supported the GRS-led state government without formally rejoining the coalition.
STAR contested 46 seats and won two, while SAPP contested six seats but won none.
The call also comes as GRS seeks to increase its number of MPs in GE16. Its secretary-general, Armizan Mohd Ali, said the coalition could win more than 15 parliamentary seats based on a simulation of the previous state election results.
GRS's tally of MPs rose to seven after Ukpo joined the coalition on June 18.
Syahruddin Awang Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said Hajiji’s call was realistic because the "local party" sentiment alone was not enough to hold a coalition together if differing interests and internal friction persisted.
He said GRS should prioritise stability and solving the people’s problems, as voter confidence and Sabah’s strength at the federal level depended on its credibility and track record.
"If internal party issues in the coalition are left to drag on until they become more complicated and are not resolved quickly, it could weaken the coalition," he said.