Syahruddin Awang Ahmad and Lee Kuok Tiung said PH should allow Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to contest the majority of the state’s 73 seats, in view of the sentiment favouring local parties.
Syahruddin, of think tank Borneo Geo-Politics & Electoral Studies, said that PH, specifically PKR, had won only two of the eight seats it contested in the 2020 Sabah election: Inanam and Api-Api.
“It would be better for PKR to use its resources to defend these two seats. It would be a more sensible strategy,” Syahruddin, of think tank Borneo Geo-Politics & Electoral Studies, told FMT.
Syahruddin was commenting on reports that PH was eyeing 23 seats for the state polls. According to Malaysiakini, PH had proposed that PKR be allotted 13 seats, with the remaining 10 to be split evenly between DAP and Upko.
DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook however confirmed that his party would defend the six seats it won five years ago: Luyang, Likas, Kapayan, Sri Tanjong, Elopura and Tanjong Papat. Loke also said that the party was looking to contest two rural seats.
GRS secretary-general Masidi Manjun meanwhile said that GRS would contest 55 seats and make way for PH in 18 constituencies.
Syahruddin agreed that GRS should contest the 55 seats given its influence on locals, whom he said were not keen on peninsula-based parties.
“If PH and PKR demand too many seats, it will lead to the perception that national parties are still looking to dominate Sabah’s political landscape,” he said, adding that it could erode voter confidence in terms of Sabah’s autonomy.
Lee, of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, said PH should accept the fact that its popularity in Sabah was somewhat stagnant.
He said PH should be realistic given the political climate in Sabah, which he described as intense in view of the tussle for power between GRS and Umno.
“This is no time to demand more seats, as they could inadvertently checkmate themselves,” he said.
Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University however said that PH was not going overboard in asking to contest 23 seats. He said the coalition, through PKR and DAP, had vied for a total of 27 seats in the last polls.
Upko, which joined the coalition in 2021, won one seat despite contesting 12.
“The best way to determine (seat distribution) is by assessing the winnability in the respective constituencies, which does not solely depend on the coalition or party that is contesting for it, but the candidate,” he said, adding that a survey should be carried out to determine such matters.