No guarantees for runners-up, says Saifuddin Nasution as PKR rethinks Sabah seat strategy
KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — Just one week into his new role as co-director of elections for PKR, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has wasted no time preparing for a potentially pivotal state poll in Sabah.
Speaking to Berita Harian, Saifuddin, who shares the post with PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar, said coalition parties held talks three days ago in anticipation of Sabah's 17th state election.
He also reportedly said the discussions — involving allies Barisan Nasional (BN), DAP, Amanah and the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) — focused on electoral data and the division of seats.
'Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional have agreed to work together in facing the Sabah polls,' Saifuddin said in the interview published today.
'We're also open to collaborating with other coalitions in the state, including Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).'
Saifuddin, who also serves as the home minister and PH secretary-general, signalled a departure from past electoral strategies.
In a notable shift, he said the coalition may no longer automatically allocate seats to parties that placed second in the previous state election.
'The rankings of first and second place are dynamic,' he reportedly said to the national daily.
'Some constituencies we lost in the 2020 state election later showed majority support for us in the 2022 general election.
'We're looking at current data — it's not a rule that a second-place showing guarantees a seat.'
The remarks come amid growing speculation that Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor could dissolve the state assembly in late July or early August.
Previously, Hajiji, who chairs GRS and leads the Gagasan Rakyat party, said the timing would be announced after GRS's annual assembly next month.
Saifuddin described recent the government's meetings on Sabah as 'highly productive,' adding that the coalition was already evaluating seat demographics, candidate suitability and ethnic composition in key constituencies.
The latest coordination effort comes as PH seeks to expand its influence in Sabah, where it currently holds nine state assembly seats, including two under PKR. BN, which won 14 seats in the last state election in 2020, left the ruling coalition in early 2023 following a political rift.
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