STAR quitting PN vital for its survival, says analyst

 

STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan says the party is pulling out of Perikatan Nasional, which does not support the unity government. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku’s (STAR) impending exit from Perikatan Nasional (PN) is necessary for its survival now that PN is no longer in power in Putrajaya, says a political analyst.

However, Syahruddin Awang Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said the decision to pull out of the coalition could be regarded as opportunistic.

He was commenting on STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan’s announcement that the party would quit PN, which it helped form two years ago with Bersatu, PAS and the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) when Muhyiddin Yassin was the prime minister.

STAR is also part of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), which supports Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.

Kitingan has said STAR and PN are no longer aligned since GRS supports Anwar as the prime minister while PN does not.

Another analyst, Tony Paridi Bagang, said he believed STAR’s decision to quit PN was also down to PAS’ increasing influence having won 49 of the 73 seats for PN in the general election.

He said STAR’s Kadazan Dusun Murut voter base may not be comfortable with PAS’ growing strength.

“By not being aligned with PN, and PAS in particular, will kill the perception that STAR is supportive of the Islamic party’s ideologies. This is important to prepare the party for the next state elections,” he said.

Bagang said STAR’s decision could also be seen as part of its commitment to strengthen GRS as a local political bloc.

“By leaving PN, STAR can openly declare or pledge its support to the federal unity government, and PN will have no ‘control’ over the party’s statements or decision,” he said. - FMT