Zahid said this was the stand taken by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during a recent unity government secretariat meeting, which Anwar chaired.
“We have not closed the door to working with other coalitions or parties.
“As the prime minister has said in his capacity as chairman of the unity government secretariat, the foundation of this (alliance for the Sabah state election) is the collaboration between PH and BN.
“This collaboration needs to be strengthened at both the federal and state levels, and this will also be done in Sabah,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Parliament today.
Separately, Sabah BN and PH leaders issued a joint statement following an informal meeting in Kota Kinabalu today “to foster the spirit of unity in line with the understanding between Anwar and Zahid”.
They said Sabah BN and PH leaders shared their aspirations to ensure their cooperation would benefit the state, and agreed to set up open communication channels to improve their partnership.
“Both parties are also open to forming ties with other parties in preparation for the coming state election. Moving forward, we also agreed for any form of cooperation to be decided via discussions and mutual understanding between the leadership of both parties,” they said.
The statement was signed by Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin, Sabah PKR chief Mustapha Sakmud, Upko deputy president Donald Mojuntin, and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah president Arthur Joseph Kurup, among others.
It comes a day after Gabungan Rakyat Sabah said it would establish a committee to discuss the next state election with its partners and allies.
GRS chairman Hajiji Noor said the committee would engage with its state government allies, particularly PH, and remain open to dialogues with other parties if it benefits the state and its people.
BN and GRS have both said they would work with PH at the next Sabah polls, which is expected to be held by October next year at the latest.
However, GRS’s major components, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku and Parti Bersatu Sabah, have repeatedly said that local parties must dominate the administration of the state.
Last week, Warisan also said it was open to working with local parties for the next state election.