KOTA KINABALU, April 1 — The coalition of Sabah-based Opposition parties, Gabungan Sabah (GS), is considering fielding a candidate in the impending Sandakan parliamentary by-election.
Gabungan Sabah Secretary Edward Dagul said he will be meeting with leaders of other Sabah-based parties to decide.
Gabungan Sabah, or United Sabah Alliance, consists of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS) and Parti Kebangsaan Sabah (PKS).
Dagul said the coalition must weigh many factors before it commits to participating in the by-election.
“It is important to us in Gabungan Sabah to stay true to our principles. Broken election pledges, the recent comings and goings of politicians from party A to party B as well as political parties switching sides after the previous general election have made people wary of politicians and politics in general.
“We will seek the views of Sabahans at large and Sandakan folks in particular,” he said.
The Election Commission has yet to announce a date for the by-election following the death of Sandakan MP Datuk Stephen Wong last Thursday from a heart attack.
Wong, a two-term elected representative who was also Sabah DAP chairman, had won the seat in the 2018 election in a straight fight against Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Lim Ming Hoo with an over 10,000 vote majority.
However, Sabah’s political scene has since changed dramatically. Lim’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was among the first to pull out of the BN coalition, leaving the coalition with little to no presence in Sabah.
Parties like LDP have yet to announce their plans for the by-election.
Other parties, which might throw their hat in the ring, include former BN component party Parti Bersatu Sabah, Umno and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Sabah which is due to be launched in Sabah by the prime minister on April 6.
