KOTA KINABALU: Sabah PKR has shot down allegations that it was a stumbling block to cooperation between Parti Warisan and Umno in facing the 17th state election,
A Sabah PKR source, denying the claim, said this was created by certain quarters to pit parties in the Unity Government against each other, given that Warisan is also among the parties which form the federal government.
The source said the claims were due to the absence of Warisan leaders, who were allegedly not invited to the Himpunan Perdana Rakyat organised by Sabah PKR on Aug 4.
According to the source, all parties under the Unity Government, including Warisan, were invited to the event that was also attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"PKR denies the claim that Sabah PKR did not invite Warisan to the gathering.
"The event secretariat stated that PKR had sent invitations to all party leaders, but some did not attend.
"As such, the claim that PKR was a stumbling block to Warisan and Umno cooperation is baseless and only due to the absence of Warisan leaders at the gathering," said the source.
The source cited a report from a news portal that claimed that PKR was opposed to cooperation between Warisan and Umno for the state polls expected next year.
The report quoted a Warisan source, which claimed that PKR was not sincere in its ties with Warisan while having good relations with Umno at the federal level.
The Warisan source was also quoted as saying that this could have prompted PKR to influence Umno's decision in the latter's cooperation with Warisan, which is helmed by Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
Meanwhile, a Sabah PKR source claimed to have a copy of the invitation sent to Warisan leaders for the Aug 4 gathering.
Apart from PKR and Pakatan Harapan leaders, the event was also attended by leaders from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) including Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, as well as Sabah Umno, headed by Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
Warisan and Umno reportedly planned to cooperate to take on GRS in the 17th state election.