Make seat concessions to Sabah allies, analyst urges national parties

2026-03-21 - 13:00

The ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition of six Sabah parties forms the state goverment with the support of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional and several local parties. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: Tussles over the right to contest parliamentary seats in Sabah will test the bonds of parties in Sabah when the next general election (GE16) is held, says a political analyst, who advises national parties to make concessions to their local allies. Syahruddin Awang Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said that if the national parties were rigid with their seat demands, the in-fighting may lead to fractured alliances among the parties and weaken their chances of maintaining the unity government after the general election. As the parliamentary elections are expected to take place before the next Sabah state polls, the disputes over seats could affect these parties’ cooperation at the state level. “If they are not managed well, this cooperation may be fractured, making way for opposition parties such as Warisan to take advantage,” he said. Syahruddin Awang Ahmad. Syahruddin said national parties should be ready to make concessions in Sabah, where politics favour local parties. “As the dominant coalition, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah has a lot of influence among Sabah’s voters. It is important that (national parties) tailor their strategies to local political realities,” he said. Sabah politicians have touted the formula of local parties leading the state government with the support of their national party allies as the best path forward for Sabah. Mustapha Sakmud. Sabah Pakatan Harapan chief Mustapha Sakmud had previously expressed his belief that Sabahans will choose local parties that can work well with Putrajaya. He said Sabahans will see local parties’ cooperation with peninsula parties bearing fruit at the next polls. Only parliamentary seats will be contested in Sabah when the next national general election is held, expected before February 2028. Elections to the state assembly were held separately in November last year, at which Gabungan Rakyat Sabah won 29 out of the 73 seats. The victory allowed GRS chairman Hajiji Noor to form a state government with support from independents and allies in PH, Barisan Nasional and Upko.