Sabah Umno-Barisan Nasional chief Bung Moktar Radin said the 14 seats were those contested by the party in GE14. They are Kudat, Kota Belud, Sepanggar, Papar, Kimanis, Beaufort, Sipitang, Tenom, Beluran, Libaran, Kinabatangan, Silam, Semporna and Kalabakan.

Should Umno get its way, that leaves only 11 parliamentary seats for its allies in GRS – PPBM, STAR, SAPP and PBS.

Bung said research by the Sabah Umno election affairs department, dubbed Juara, and the research secretariat chaired by Tanjung Keramat assemblyman Shahelmey Yahya supported the party’s belief that these are the seats it had a good chance of winning.

“We will, however, finalise which seats to be contested by Umno-BN in the near future,” he said after chairing a Juara meeting at the party headquarters here yesterday.

Also present at the meeting were state Umno deputy chairman Yakub Khan, secretary Jafry Ariffin and Sabah Umno GE15 director Salleh Said Keruak.

Bung said negotiations with the parties in GRS should be done transparently and as soon as possible.

“Preliminary negotiations between BN and GRS need to be done transparently based on the strength of their respective parties, and decisions must be made early instead of waiting till the last minute before GE15.

“Every seat that will be contested needs to be scrutinised based on the geopolitics factor and the wishes of the voters,” he said.