KOTA KINABALU: No one should treat Sabah as a political testing ground, says a senior leader of the state's ruling coalition, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.
"For all the contributions we have made to this country, especially in terms of wealth and oil, Sabah should not treated as a place for political experiments," said GRS secretary-general Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
"We are not anti-Kuala Lumpur, but they should stop treating us like rats in a laboratory," he told a press conference after launching the Gagasan Rakyat Youth and Women's divisions.
"The Prime Minister respects the people of Sabah, but I am a bit disappointed that some people think they should break the fundamental rules and then start discussions."
Masidi however did not name anyone in his comments.
When asked if he was referring to comments made by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last week, Masidi said, "it could be anyone".
Then, Zahid said the Sabah polls will serve as a "testing ground" to assess the cooperation between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional.
Masidi said Sabah was already the "victim" of political experiments in the 1990s when a rotation system for the chief minister's post was introduced.
"This system might have led to many decisions that were unfavourable to the state, as they were made in a short time."
He cited the example of some well-intended land transactions that were made in a short period due to time constraints.
"We later realised that we could have secured a better deal for the land, rather than what we ended up with."
Meanwhile, Masidi said that in Sabah, GRS and Sabah PH should be the ones to set the parameters of their election pact.