KOTA KINABALU, July 13 ― The Sabah and Sarawak branches of Pakatan Harapan said they did not view new opposition pact Gabungan Rakyat Saksama (Saksama) as an immediate threat in the next general elections.

Borneo leaders from DAP and PKR said it was unlikely that the new seven-party bloc ― which consists of parties in Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula ― would garner much support from East Malaysians as the parties were relatively new and unknown.

"In Sabah, people don’t really know who they are yet,” PKR vice-president Darell Leiking told Malay Mail Online.

"The majority of voters here will look at the major individuals. Saksama might find a place at some point, but if they contest now, it is unlikely they get much support,” added the Penampang MP.

Saksama ― comprising Reform, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDS Baru), Parti Sejahtera Angkatan Perpaduan Sabah (SAPU), Pertubuhan Perpaduan Rakyat Kebangsaan Sabah (Perpaduan), Sabah-based Malaysia United People's Party (MUPP), Parti Kebangsaan Sabah (PKS) and the People’s Alternative Party (PAP) from the peninsula ― plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on its formation on August 1.

Although Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said yesterday that Pakatan Harapan was ready to co-operate with Saksama, the federal opposition pact could end up contesting against Saksama in the 14th general election as Reform president Lina Soo told Malay Mail Online that any alliance would only be formed if the former stayed out of Sabah and Sarawak.

Leiking said that while it was admirable that Saksama has managed to form a coalition to operate under one symbol, the individual parties were still too small and new compared to other major parties within the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan that have established agendas and support.

He also expressed distaste for the "parochial” politics displayed by the new coalition that bars any opposition parties that have branches nationwide from joining.

"I think this kind of politics makes things uncomfortable. There are also Sabahans in those parties who have contributed a lot to the same causes. I think it is parochial and narrow politics that should not be encouraged at all,” said the Sabahan politician.

In Kuching, Sarawak DAP secretary Alan Ling Sie Kiong said Saksama would likely split votes in the next election, but it would not have a great impact in Sarawak as the recent state elections saw people voting for either Pakatan Harapan parties or BN.

"They do not have much support in the state,” he said, in reference to Reform (formerly known as State Reform Party) and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS Baru) whose candidates had all lost their election deposits.

Ling said Sarawakians and Sabahans should not be too concerned with parochial issues raised by Saksama to get their support.

"We must look at [the] bigger picture by supporting Pakatan for a new Malaysia, or remain stuck with Malaysia under the Barisan,” he said, adding that people from the two Borneo states must look at things from the national perspective.

Ling expressed hope that Saksama would work together with Pakatan Harapan to change Malaysia for the better.

Sabah DAP state chairman Stephen Wong also echoed the same sentiments, claiming that the new coalition was not offering anything new that voters could not get from a bigger platform that Pakatan Harapan provided.

"I don’t see Saksama posing much threat to Pakatan. The most they can get is some nominal vote splitting.

"Pakatan has been consistently serving and fighting for the people. And their subscription to the formation of Malaysia and the Malaysian Agreement 1963 is nothing new that we haven’t touched on,” he said.

Saksama says it subscribes to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 which puts Sarawak, Sabah and the peninsula as equal partners in the formation of Malaysia.