Seat talks: Star unhappy, does not rule out withdrawing from PN

SABAH POLLS | Seat negotiations between Perikatan Nasional coalition members are not going well for Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star).

When met at the Federal Court today, Star president Jeffrey Kitingan claimed that he left the meeting midway this morning. He said the meeting took place at Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin's office.

Hamzah is Bersatu secretary-general.

According to Kitingan, Star's position was that it should be allocated 15 to 18 seats by the coalition, but they were being offered only between six to eight.

"We don't want that. If that's the case, it is better if we go into the elections alone," said Kitingan.

He told Malaysiakini that BN and Umno were dominating discussions and were trying to secure the rights to field the most candidates.

"We don't like it. Voters are now saying 'semenanjung' parties are getting more seats than local parties.

"That is exactly what is going on right now. This is on the BN-Umno side. They are controlling the narrative," he said.

Kitingan said his party only wanted 15 to 18 seats, mostly in Kadazan-Dusun- Murut (KDM) areas.

Star's goal was that they, in combination with Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), should together have around 30 to 35 seats.

"This is all we want. There will still be a big chunk out there for Umno and Bersatu.

"Why do they forget about that and do not listen to local sentiments?" he asked.

Asked specifically if Star would withdraw from PN should they fail to convince BN to give way, Kitingan replied in the affirmative.

Attempts to contact Hamzah's officers for comments have been unsuccessful.

During the 2018 elections, Star fielded 20 Sabah legislative assembly candidates of which two won.

The party was formed in 1996 in Sarawak as the State Reform Party before it was turned into a Sabah-based party and renamed in 2016.

Although most of Star's 20 candidates performed poorly in the 2018 elections, it had shown that it wields influence in some KDM areas. - Mkini