He added that the GRS coalition was effective because it involved the cooperation of national and local parties with a clear structure and where everyone had important roles.

“However, as the recent Melaka state elections has shown, GRS political leaders need to act now to strengthen the direction of this loose coalition,” he said in a Facebook post.

Salleh also raised the issue of Barisan Nasional having gone solo in the recent Melaka polls and questioned if this was going to be the case in the next general election (GE15), including in Sabah.

“The question now is how would the main allies in GRS, namely Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN), avoid clashes as seen in the Melaka state elections.

“The political situation in Sabah is different from that of Peninsular Malaysia and we cannot ignore this matter,” he said.

Salleh urged GRS leaders to get to work together in addressing the issue, and discuss the actions they need to take to empower the coalition.

“There will, of course, be differences of opinion, but for the future of Sabah I believe it is important to discuss this matter now in an open, sensible and constructive manner.”