KOTA KINABALU: Allied political parties should have discussions among themselves internally instead of making them public, said Universiti Malaysia Sabah political analyst Associate Professor Dr Romzi Ationg.
For the past few weeks, there have been statements issued by political parties about positions and the upcoming Sabah election.
Members of the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) have voiced the possibility for the party to lead the Sabah Pakatan Harapan coalition, demand more positions for its grassroots leaders, and contest more seats.
Recently, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)'s Papar member of parliament, Datuk Armizan Ali, also stated that it would not be fair for a party uncomfortable with cooperation to be forced to choose GRS solely because of the existence of the unity government at the national level.
Armizan had also mentioned that when elections come, Sabah wants to form a stable government through consensus, trust and confidence among its allies.
Romzi said the people in Sabah are rather in favor of solid political stability and want politicians to focus on what really matters to them.
"Any move to manipulate the political situation here in Sabah just hurts the people more.
"Voicing out blatantly the demand for more seats thus becomes unnecessary and could possibly backfire.
"Why not discuss it behind closed doors? Rather than making it public? Let them have a thorough discussion. All parties must come to a firm agreement on such an issue," he said, adding that the current GRS-PH plus Sabah government is indeed crowded with 12 political parties in it.
GRS consists of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan), as well as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
PH plus' members are Pakatan Keadilan Rakyat, Democratic Action Party, Amanah, and Upko.
The 73-state assembly legislature only has one Upko assemblyman; 24 Gagasan; PBS (7); Star (6); DAP (4); PKR(2); Harapan(1) and GRS (1) in the government.
Meanwhile, another analyst from Universiti Teknologi Mara, Tony Paridi Bagang, has a different view of movement taken by Upko leaders, particularly its president, Datuk Ewon Benedick.
The 41-year-old Penampang member of Parliament and Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development minister took over the presidency in January last year.
"With Ewon at the helm, Upko is demonstrating bold leadership, particularly in navigating intra-coalition affairs, signaling his proactive stance as the new president.
"Upko's assertive stance sends a strong signal to the (GRS-PH) coalition that it expects a larger share of seats in the upcoming elections, underlining its determination.
"This move is part of Upko's efforts to rejuvenate grassroots support, with Ewon stressing the importance of cooperation not only at higher echelons but also at the grassroots level, especially regarding political appointments and public administration."