KOTA KINABALU: Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) and Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri (Anak Negeri) inked a political pact today to face the 14th General Election (GE) together.
The two opposition parties are targeting 22 to 25 Kadazandusun Murut (KDM) state seats.
PCS president Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing confirmed that he would defend the Tamparuli state seat but would not recontest the Tuaran parliamentary seat.
Anak Negeri president Datuk Henrynus Amin is eyeing the Kundasang state seat but is also considering running for the Ranau parliamentary seat.
The pact between the two KDM-based parties will see both using the same PCS symbol and manifesto in the general election.
It will also pave way for a merger in the future.
Both parties also admitted that they had not given up on collaborating with others in the opposition, including Pakatan Harapan and Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan), despite past friction when Warisan accused PCS and Bumburing of being pro-Barisan Nasional.
“That does not close the door. It is normal in politics. For example, DAP and Warisan have locked horns before but now they are collaborating. Good politicians can come to a compromise,” said Bumburing.
Henrynus, whose party has also been accused of being BN-friendly, added that regardless of what was said, at the end of the day, they had to be pragmatic.
“I could do the same thing. I could say just because we do not have money to do roadshows and you (Warisan) can do roadshows. We also depend on crowd funding. So, don’t accuse us of taking Umno’s money,” he said.
“But, we still hope to sit down with fellow opposition, because we believe our parties can contribute to the formation of a larger opposition coalition to form state and federal governments (in the future). The keyword here is being pragmatic.”
However, Henrynus said they had given up on talks with Gabungan Sabah, an opposition pact consisting of four Sabah-based parties, as the group had a different agenda.
“The difference we have with them is that they are anti-Malaya and friendly to SSKM (Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia ideology). We go against Barisan Nasional and Umno, but we do not go against the constitution.
“It is a ridiculous policy. For example, they want to divide Sabah into seven residencies. If we work with them, it would be chaotic as we do not know where it will lead,” he said.