Suhaimi said PH needed to be transparent as it was allies with BN and GRS, both of whom are rivals, Utusan Malaysia reported.

“Who will PH side with? Are they with us or with GRS?” he was quoted as saying.

Noting that there were bound to be overlapping seats, he said: “PH’s stance must be made clear as we do not want a ‘thorn in the side’ since it would be detrimental to the party.”

Suhaimi also said Sabah Umno must be cautious in view of past betrayals by allies which had led to the party securing 20 seats with slim majorities.

He claimed that the party had recorded slim majorities in more than two-thirds of the constituencies due to sabotage by its allies.

In the last state polls, BN had joined forces with Perikatan Nasional.

Suhaimi said that in Gum-Gum, an independent candidate aligned with PN was fielded, and that the same happened in Telupid and Banggi.

“How can we work with GRS now? We were bitten once; we don’t want to be bitten twice.”

Earlier this month, GRS chairman Hajiji Noor said it would continue cooperating with PH at the coming Sabah polls, after Sabah Umno and BN snubbed the ruling coalition.

PH and BN are allies at the federal level, but BN is in the opposition in Sabah.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Saturday that the coalition would not contest all 73 seats.

However, he said Umno and BN had identified a number of seats suitable for contest – more than the 14 won in the 2020 state election, including newly created constituencies.

Last month, GRS said it would defend the 42 seats it had won.

The term of the current Sabah assembly expires on Nov 11, unless it is dissolved earlier. After that, an election must be held within 60 days.