PBS-STAR pact ‘significant’ but won’t unify KDM votes, says analyst

 

Star’s Jeffrey Kitingan (left) and PBS’s Maximus Ongkili (right), seen here with Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor, recently announced talks of collaboration between their parties. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: An analyst has described the potential cooperation between Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) as a significant move.

However, James Chin of the University of Tasmania says the collaboration may not be enough to consolidate the votes of the Kadazandusun Murut (KDM) community.

He said no political bloc is capable of unifying the votes of any particular community in Sabah presently.

“The last time this was successful was when most of the Muslims in Sabah were supporting Umno. Since then, even the Muslim vote has been split, so it’s just not a possibility,” he told FMT.

Chin said there are several parties that represent or are targeting the KDM community, including Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat, which carries the same acronym.

“You can argue that almost every party is a KDM party, because almost every party will try to reach out to the KDM (community). There are too many parties and too many personalities.”

Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said that aside from PBS, STAR and the party KDM, Pakatan Harapan’s Upko and Barisan Nasional’s Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) have their voter base within the KDM community.

To truly consolidate the KDM votes, PBS and STAR would need to consider whether or not to extend their cooperation to PH and BN components or any of the other parties, he said.

Last Thursday, PBS and STAR announced that they had agreed to commence official talks to build understanding and cooperation between them.

STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan revived the idea of a merger with PBS in July, a suggestion first floated amid the 2020 Sabah election.

Jeffrey said a merger was one way to strengthen the two KDM-based parties.

PBS was founded by Jeffrey’s elder brother, Joseph Pairin, who led the party to power from 1985 to 1994. However, he failed to regain power after the 1994 state election, when almost all PBS assemblymen defected to BN.

Jeffrey was among those who defected. He was later in and out of several parties before forming STAR in 2016.

Nonetheless, Chin said cooperation between the two parties would still be “highly significant” as it signals a generational transition in both PBS and STAR, with party presidents Maximus Ongkili and Jeffrey aged 70 and 75, respectively.

He said that if their alliance materialised, the two KDM-based parties would go on to form a significant bloc in the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition.

Lee said the pact would show that there was no rivalry between PBS and STAR, describing it as a “good beginning though it is far from a merger”.

“It is significant in terms of political strategy, especially cooperation to win KDM-majority seats and avoiding clashes with each other, especially avoiding the possibility of multi-cornered fights.

“It also means a more organised election machinery and more efficient funding. However, the planning must be based on the interests of the people and not on political interests alone,” he said. - FMT