KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 – Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin insisted that Sabah Umno still retains a degree of autonomy despite Barisan Nasional’s (BN) central leadership assuming control over alliance decisions for the upcoming state elections.

The Sabah BN chairman reportedly explained that while BN’s top leadership will decide on electoral pacts, Sabah Umno continues to have authority over candidate selection and strategic planning for the elections.

"[Sabah Umno’s autonomy] is enshrined in Umno’s constitution. It can’t be done away with just like that. But people are interpreting [the national BN leadership’s decision] in all sorts of ways,” Bung Moktar was quoted saying by Free Malaysia Today.

"We were informed that the central leadership needed to make the decision [to form a pact with Pakatan Harapan] early to set the coalition’s direction. They have to determine it because we do not want any clashes at both the state and federal levels.”

On Friday, PH secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Unity Government Secretariat chief Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki announced in a joint statement that PH and BN had agreed to work together in facing the next Sabah state election.

It was announced that while state-level parties would handle discussions on the form of cooperation, final decisions will be made by the national leadership.

In response, Bung Moktar said formal seat negotiations with PH had yet to begin, with only initial discussions taking place.

He noted that both Sabah BN and PH were open to working with the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), though he cautioned that the arrangement might not meet GRS’s expectations regarding seat allocations.

"However, the alliance may not be as what GRS is hoping for, like asking for more seats,” he reportedly said.

This comes GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the coalition might consider contesting alone if PH and BN formalise their alliance.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he did not discuss the possible dissolution of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly during his meeting with Governor Tun Musa Aman.

Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim Yahya had been reported as saying that the five-year term of the current state assembly will expire on November 11.