Commenting on seat negotiations between Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasionaland Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, Mustapha said there was a need for the three coalitions to be magnanimous.

“Any of the seats won by the party in 2020 must be contested by the said party (in the impending Sabah polls),” he said in an interview with Utusan Malaysia yesterday.

“It doesn’t matter if the assemblyman had defected.”

Mustapha said he hoped all quarters would abide by the principle, as failure to do so would make it difficult for the coalitions to work together.

PH is in separate pacts with GRS and BN for the state election, as the two coalitions have refused to work together.

PH is an ally of GRS in the state government, while BN sits with Warisan in the opposition. However, PH and BN are allies in the federal government.

On Aug 16, BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan said BN will defend all seats it won and contest all traditional seats that were previously given to Bersatu in the 2020 state election.

Mustapha also said PH had held several meetings with BN on seat negotiations.

“There are only a few seats left that need to be decided on,” he said.

He said cooperation between the two coalitions at the state level was important in view of the good relationship PH and BN had at the federal level.

“We want this to continue at the state level,” he said.

In 2020, BN won 14 seats, while PKR won two. Upko, a PH component, won one seat.

On Aug 3, a GRS leader said its assemblymen will defend their seats in the state election. GRS holds 42 seats in the 79-member state assembly, while PBS holds seven seats.