Pamela Yong, chief of the party’s women’s wing in Sabah, said these leaders should not make such pronouncements “from an ivory tower, far removed from the nuances of local political dynamics”.
“It is crucial for them to understand realities on the ground. Otherwise we’ll be walking into the opposition’s trap,” she told FMT.
Yong was responding to a claim by Umno supreme council member Ahmad Maslan that BN would contest the rural seats in Sabah while PH focuses on the urban areas.
She pointed out that unity isn’t declared from a press conference but built through “honest negotiation and mutual respect on the ground”.
On Sunday, Ahmad said the finalised allocation of seats shows that the BN-PH tie-up is on the right track as all parties prepare to make the final dash for votes.
While he could not reveal how many seats have been allocated to BN, he did say that “urban seats belong to PH, while BN will focus on the rural areas”.
Yong described the strategy as “overly simplistic” and Ahmad’s statement as “haughty”.
She pointed out that the evolving local political equation in Sabah is often overlooked in such top-down strategies.
She said Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) — the state’s ruling coalition — and Sabah PH have made far more meaningful progress in their negotiations, driven by mutual recognition of political realities and the need for local relevance.
Yong said that on the other hand, discussions between Sabah BN and Sabah PH have been patchy. “They lack cohesion or common purpose that is essential for successful seat allocation,” she added.
“To pretend otherwise is to risk sleepwalking into multi-cornered fights — especially in constituencies where neither side can reach a compromise.”
Yong said agreeing to a “free-for-all” in some areas was a recipe for disaster.
Without a concerted effort to ensure straight fights — particularly against parties like Warisan, GRS, BN and PH risk splitting the government’s support base, thus handing victory over to the opposition on a silver platter.
“Sabah deserves better than half-baked strategies and political double-dealing disguised as coalition unity,” she said.
Yong said that if BN is truly serious about defending Sabah and building a united front, negotiations must be strategic, inclusive, and led by those who understand the local battlefield.
“It should not be dictated from Putrajaya. Otherwise, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past and losing not just seats, but the confidence of the people,” she added.