STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan's denial of formal talks with Warisan and KDM is seen as being more about tactical flexibility than ruling out cooperation ahead of the next general election.
Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan’s clarification could be a deliberate attempt to control the political narrative while maintaining tactical flexibility until the shape of a possible general election and seat-sharing arrangements becomes clearer.
He said this could still leave room for a “Sabah local bloc” involving Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), Warisan, or even a federal alignment.
Lee said STAR could also be assessing the strength of its grassroots machinery before committing to any alliance.
“I believe STAR is also currently surveying its grassroots support throughout the Kadazan Dusun-Murut hinterland to gauge where its machinery is self-sufficient and where it really needs partner support,” he told FMT.
In a similar vein, Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Pawi said that STAR could be trying to assess how far its “Sabah for Sabahans” brand and grassroots strength could result in parliamentary seats before entering seat-sharing negotiations.
“The stronger STAR appears to be able to stand on its own, the higher its negotiating price in terms of seats, candidates, the MA63 agenda and its position in the coalition,” he said. “Entering an alliance too early could cause STAR to be seen as a junior partner to Warisan.”
Kitingan told party members at STAR’s 10th anniversary gathering that there were no official discussions with Warisan or KDM on any political collaboration or alliance.
The Keningau MP said STAR’s priority was to strengthen itself first, warning against entering a coalition as a liability or becoming dependent on another party’s strength.
STAR was founded by Kitingan in 2016 after he broke away from the Sabah chapter of the State Reform Party and has since moved through several political alliances.
It most recently left GRS in 2025 just before the November state elections. STAR eventually won two seats and ultimately ended up supporting the GRS-led state government.
Awang Azman said cooperation with Warisan and KDM could benefit STAR by reducing competition among local parties and preventing vote-splitting. “It could build a stronger Sabah bloc in the contest for the state’s 25 parliamentary seats,” he said.
However, STAR could risk being overshadowed by Warisan, losing the freedom to negotiate with other blocs and having to compromise over seat allocations and leadership.
For Lee, cooperation with Warisan would also have to overcome the long political rivalry between Kitingan and Warisan president Shafie Apdal.
After the 2018 general election, BN and Shafie’s Warisan Plus each held 29 seats, while STAR won two. As kingmaker, it backed BN to form the state government instead of Shafie. However, defections by six BN assemblymen allowed Shafie to become chief minister.
In the 2020 snap election, STAR, then part of Perikatan Nasional (PN), joined BN under the GRS banner to contest against Warisan and PH.
Lee said these episodes deepened the divide between the two leaders. “Any new initiative seems to require overcoming deep-seated scepticism at both leadership and grassroots levels,” he said.
Lee said any potential cooperation would also have to resolve the question of leadership. “Who will be appointed Chief Minister or parliamentary leader? Do they want to reintroduce the rotation system of chief minister?” he said.
“Given that both leaders command strong personal followings, these fundamentals must be in place in the collaboration to be established,” Lee said. - FMT
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