KOTA KINABALU: It will be up to Pakatan Harapan to walk the tightrope in juggling electoral cooperation between Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), says Datuk Salleh Said Keruak.

The Sabah Umno treasurer said that with GRS opting to forge an electoral pact with Pakatan in the coming state election, Barisan will leave it to Pakatan to manage the cooperation among the three parties.

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“For Barisan, we chose to work with Pakatan early on… (as) we are the foundation of the unity government at the federal level. So this cooperation is a logical and responsible continuation,” the former chief minister said in a Facebook post on Monday (July 28).

“How Pakatan manages cooperation with Barisan and GRS is none of our business.

“What is important for Barisan is sincere cooperation, and our focus is to strengthen the party on the ground.

“We want to win and help our coalition partners. We are not a two-faced player.

“Our approach is clear – honest, open, and for the good of the people of Sabah.”

GRS and Sabah Barisan were partners in the 2020 state election.

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They have refused to work with each other since Sabah Barisan withdrew its support for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor in January 2023.

Sabah Pakatan filled the vacuum and kept Hajiji’s state government afloat.

Salleh said the GRS decision to forge an electoral pact with Pakatan reflected that it has chosen to work with national parties and reject the “all local” approach adopted in Sarawak.

“The GRS decision to choose Pakatan as a partner for the Sabah election deserves respect.

“It ultimately rejected the solo path and chose to work with national parties. Of course, it has (its reasons)… and the people will judge,” Salleh added.

“We in Barisan have been consistent from the beginning that a coalition with Pakatan is the best approach for stability,” he said.

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His comments followed Hajiji’s confirmation on Sunday (July 27) that an electoral pact with Pakatan had been confirmed and they were just ironing out the details.

There has been no immediate official reaction by GRS coalition partners to Hajiji’s announcement.

Salleh believes that GRS chose Pakatan as a partner because it wanted to work with the Prime Minister’s party to ensure good relations with the Federal Government.

“This is in line with the need to guarantee political stability and development for Sabah,” he said.

Over the last few weeks, Sabah Barisan and Pakatan have reached several agreements on seats to be contested in their negotiations in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.