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TAMBUNAN: The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition will announce its endorsement of a multi-seat multi-seat candidate to ensure a direct fight against Warisan Plus, STAR President Jeffrey Kitingan said today.
He admitted that it was too late for candidates to withdraw their candidacies, which must be done within 48 hours after nominations, but said there would be a special strategy in which an agreed candidate will be supported by the others.
“We cannot back down now because more than 48 hours have passed, but we will announce that we will help (campaign for) only one candidate.
“For example, for me in Tambunan, PBS needs to campaign together to inform our voters that there is only one candidate,” he told reporters here today.
He said a full announcement will be made tomorrow or September 24. Voting will take place on September 26.
Perikatan Nasional Secretary General Hamzah Zainudin released the news of plans to end “friendly fighting” between the coalition partners.
However, PBS adviser Joseph Pairin Kitingan said he had not been informed of such a consensus and maintained that the party was not withdrawing from any of the seats it is contesting.
Pairin said the party was willing to cooperate with its allies in GRS, although this did not mean it was withdrawing from the competition in any of its seats.
While campaigning today, he said: “There is no possibility of withdrawing because we have candidates who use the PBS symbol. If we wanted to withdraw, it would have been before nomination day. “
PBS faces BN parties in 15 seats. It was originally set to go against Umno in Bengkoka, Tanjung Aru and Telupid, against PBRS in Matunggong, Tandek and Kadamaian, and against Sabah MCA in Kapayan and Karamunting; however, on the day of the nomination, the party announced that it would contest seven additional seats: Paginatan, Lumadan, Tambunan, Bingkor, Tulid, Moyog and Liawan.
In total, there will be clashes on 17 seats between BN, PN and PBS. In Paginatan and Tulid, there will be a three-way fight between them, and this does not take into account the rest of the matches in dispute.
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