Kitingan said what he meant was that STAR was open to working with the federal administration should the party form the Sabah government after the polls.

He said he hoped to emulate the Sarawak government, which is fully governed by Sarawak-based Gabungan Parti Sarawak, while West Malaysian-based parties sit in the opposition.

“This is the model we want to build in Sabah. We will work with the federal government when necessary but Sabah must be governed by Sabahans through Sabah-based parties.

“This is what true autonomy looks like. A regional government built and led by its own people and accountable only to them,” he said in a statement.

Kitingan added that his earlier statement was misunderstood, saying his focus was on building a political movement that put Sabah first.

In a statement last night, Kitingan had said he was forming a new local alliance of parties dubbed Gerakan Sabah Baharu for the state election, following his exit from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

He also said STAR would be “open to cooperating with the federal or Malayan parties for the sake of political stability after the state election”.

However, he said any cooperation must be based on respect and without sidelining Sabah’s rights and autonomy.