KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah’s quest to recapture its traditional Melalap seat in Tenom lies in its cooperation with Sabah STAR under the Bersatu-Solidariti (BEST) coalition, says the party’s secretary general.
Datuk Julita Majungki said the platform gave it the best chance of wresting back the Murut-majority state seat it had lost twice since 2018 because of BEST’s tailored strategy to win over non-Muslim seats in the interior of Sabah.
The Melalap seat was won consecutively by Datuk Peter Anthony in the 2018 and 2020 state elections on a Warisan ticket. Peter then left the opposition Warisan to form Parti KDM in 2022.
PBS and Sabah STAR, both under the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition government, have signed a memorandum of understanding to join hands to contest non-Muslim native seats, numbering around 23 to 25 seats for GRS
Majungki said it was important to recapture Melalap and other Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus native seats as the community needed to be part of the government and bring about stability in the state.
“A victory in Melalap is important to allow for Sabah to achieve political stability and ensure the continuity of the state government,” she said,
Majungki said that the seat could be taken back with the cooperation of Sabah STAR and other GRS component parties.
“STAR Sabah and GRS both hold assembly seats adjacent to Melalap. We can discuss who will be the candidate after negotiations for the seat are completed,” she said at the PBS Melalap annual general meeting held over the weekend.
