'Sabah BN plus plus' in the works
Sabah BN may be left with just one parliamentary seat and one state assembly seat, but it is still the top dog in the state opposition and appeared to have the biggest say in seat allocation.
Sabah Umno head Bung Moktar Radin, when contacted today, reiterated that his party's starting position in the negotiation was that they will be given the rights to field a candidate for every seat they won in 2018.
Sabah BN may be left with just one parliamentary seat and one state assembly seat, but it is still the top dog in the state opposition and appeared to have the biggest say in seat allocation.
Sabah Umno head Bung Moktar Radin, when contacted today, reiterated that his party's starting position in the negotiation was that they will be given the rights to field a candidate for every seat they won in 2018.
This will likely create problems for Sabah Umno-Bersatu relations as all six Bersatu and seven state assemblypersons in Sabah won their seats on an Umno ticket before defecting.
In 2018, Sabah Umno fielded 15 candidates for Parliament, winning seven, and 32 candidates for the state legislature, winning 17. Bersatu, who was a Pakatan Harapan coalition member, did not field any candidates in Sabah.
Sabah Umno's only two lawmakers in the state currently are Bung (Kinabatangan MP) and Musa Aman (below) (Sungai Sibuga state assemblyperson).
Bung envisioned the new Sabah coalition - which he dubbed "Sabah BN plus plus" - to base future seat negotiations entirely on winnability.
He said any party staking claims on seats won by Sabah Umno in 2018, would have to prove why their candidacy would be more viable.
"We want to see their name list and (proof of) strength on the area... (we want to know if) they have supporters there," said Bung.
"In an election, you have to win. It is not a matter of 'how many seats you want'. Even if you field many candidates and only win one, what is the point?"
Bung said he would not be engaging independent polling firms, stressing that Sabah's opposition had its own method of gauging winning chances and it will also involve "big data".
Unlike their West Malaysia counterparts, Bung said Sabah Umno has yet to officially engage their local allies but assured that it would happen soon.
While he didn't commit to a date, perhaps due to the need to keep discussions confidential, he did hint that holding discussions in August or September would be "too late".
Bung said Sabah Umno/BN was given the autonomy to decide matters related to the general election, including seat allocation.
He also noted that PAS may not contest in the poll but BN will also engage them in the discussion on the electoral matter.
Elsewhere, seat negotiations among Perikatan Nasional parties, except in Sarawak, are taking place to ensure straight fights against Harapan and their allies.
These negotiations are expected to be a complicated affair as Bersatu, Umno and PAS are all eyeing the same demographics - Malay-Muslims - and they fielded the candidates against each other during the 2018 elections.
However, Umno is expected to have the most bargaining power, in view that the party won 54 seats in 2018, making them more popular among voters compared to PAS (18 seats) and Bersatu (13 seats).
