Buy-in of grassroots a key hurdle to extending BN-GRS pact, says leader

 GRS Youth chief says some staunch GRS supporters still question BN's acceptance into the state administration.

GRS helped BN retain the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state seats in the by-elections last month. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 A Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leader has cautioned that obtaining the buy-in of grassroots supporters will be a major obstacle to extending the coalition’s cooperation with Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election (GE16).

GRS Youth chief Jonnybone Kurum said it would be difficult to justify to grassroots the need for such a pact when the two coalitions were fierce rivals in the Sabah state election on Nov 29.

He added that some staunch supporters of Parti Bersatu Sabah and Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah were still questioning BN’s acceptance into the state administration.

“We’ve told them that the alliance was needed to form the state government and ensure stability, despite all that happened following the previous state election.

“So if we want to extend this political pact to GE16, this is the challenge we face: (getting GRS supporters to understand the need for such a pact),” he told FMT.

Jonnybone, the Telupid assemblyman, also said that the interests of Sabahans must always take precedence over the sentiments of certain quarters.

“We need to move on. Politics is about the future, not past grudges,” he added.

GRS helped BN retain the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state seats in the by-elections last month, prompting newly-elected Kinabatangan MP Kurniawan Naim Moktar to call for the expansion of their alliance.

Naim said the support of GRS and Pakatan Harapan on the campaign trail had helped him achieve his 14,214-vote majority victory over his Warisan rival.

BN clashed with GRS in the November state election but ended up cooperating as GRS chairman Hajiji Noor went on to form the state government.

BN had put up its worst electoral performance in Sabah by winning just six seats. Analysts said that its seven parliamentary seats in Sabah would be at risk if it did not form a pact with GRS in GE16. - FMT