Speaking to reporters at the party’s Christmas Open House yesterday, the Tamparuli assemblyman admitted that at the moment, the discussions had been on and off.
“Currently, all matters are up for discussion by the top leadership of each party. But I believe, we will reach a common understanding soon,” he said.
Bumburing, who led his party out of the local opposition alliance Gabungan Sabah in April this year in favour of a “grand alliance”, may still get his wish, judging by the guests at the party’s event.
Among those who attended were Parti Warisan Sabah leaders, including secretary-general Loretto Padua Jr, treasurer-general Terrence Siambun and Youth chief Mohd Azis Jamman, as well as local PKR leaders and DAP leaders.
Bumburing said opposition parties must be realistic of their chances in the election because a multi-cornered contest would mean that the votes would be divided, thus benefitting their main rival, Barisan Nasional (BN).
As one of the many opposition parties in the state, he said PCS was aware that the sharing of seats was unavoidable.
Speaking of PCS chances in the election, Bumburing, who was former deputy chief minister before leaving BN component party, Upko, in 2012, said that while he realised his party was considered a minnow, it had a strong voter base, especially in the Kadazan-Dusun and Murut (KDM)-majority areas.
Currently, there are 22 state seats considered to be in KDM-majority areas in Sabah.
“In terms of publicity, it is true, we are not like others. However, we are strong on the ground. From the feedback we got, once the seat distribution among all the opposition parties is settled, we are confident we can deliver the goods in KDM areas,” he said.
Nevertheless, just like Warisan, Bumburing also stressed that his party would not be joining any alliance but would cooperate with sincere opposition parties, including PKR, DAP and Warisan.
He also hinted that he might not contest the Tuaran parliamentary seat which he held from 2008 before losing it to Upko acting president Wilfred Madius Tangau in the 2013 general election.
“I have been asked to contest the Tuaran seat by the voters but I believe there are other capable leaders and besides, I am not young anymore,” he said adding that he might consider defending his Tamparuli state seat.
He won the seat on a PKR ticket in the 2013 Sabah state election, beating his closest rival from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Jahid Jakim, by 383 votes.
Overall, he said PCS had identified its potential candidates but it would still depend on the outcome of discussions with other opposition parties.