Hajiji hints at 'minor collisions' with Harapan over Sabah seats

Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairperson Hajiji Noor has acknowledged that there could be “minor collisions” between his coalition and its federal partner, Pakatan Harapan, as both sides rush to name candidates for the Nov 29 Sabah election.

However, Hajiji stressed that cooperation with Harapan remains intact.

“We are still working together with Harapan. Belanggar sikit-sikit itu boleh lah (a little collision here and there is all right). It’s nothing serious,” he told reporters in Kota Kinabalu today.

Hajiji confirmed that GRS had finalised its list of candidates and would reveal them soon.

“I think I will make the announcement maybe around the 11th or 12th of this month, three or four days before nomination day.

“Everything is finished. All 100 percent done. It’s just the announcement left,” he said.

Previously, Harapan sources had admitted there were still overlaps to iron out, with “friendly contests” remaining possible if final-hour compromises fail.

Overlapping claims

GRS is eyeing to contest 53 of Sabah’s 73 assembly seats, with the remaining going to Harapan.

Harapan’s sole Sabah-based component, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), had said it will contest “more than two seats” and use its own logo rather than the coalition’s.

PKR had also signalled interest in Darau, Karamunting, and Gum-Gum, while DAP is rallying its base in several west-coast constituencies it regards as non-negotiable.

Further complicating the situation is Harapan’s separate negotiations with BN, which is expected to clash head-on with GRS in most seats.

‘Siphoning resources? No comment’

On a separate matter, Hajiji laughed and brushed off a question about the federal government’s insistence that it isn’t siphoning Sabah’s natural resources.

“Siphoning? What do you mean siphoning? No comment. Thank you,” he said.

On Oct 22, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim rejected accusations that the federal government had been “siphoning Sabah’s natural resources” or draining wealth from the state.

Anwar argued the opposite, that Putrajaya had in fact spent more on Sabah than it collected through taxes and royalties.

He said this in response to a High Court ruling that Putrajaya owed Sabah decades of backdated pay after the federal government failed to uphold constitutional terms granting Sabah 40 percent of federal revenue collected in the state.

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