KOTA KINABALU, Nov 16 — The Barisan Nasional (BN) is seen as having better chances in the Sabah State Election this time from its alliance with Pakatan Harapan (PH).

BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the BN-PH collaboration provides strategic advantages, especially in areas with a majority of non-Muslim Bumiputera and Chinese voters, which were previously difficult to penetrate.

“When we collaborate with PH in areas with non-Muslim Bumiputera and Chinese voters, we find that they are more receptive and there is harmony among this Sabah combination to parties that are components of BN and PH,” he said at a press conference here.

He said that although there were overlaps in several seats, including in Kemabong and Karamunting, the matter was resolved through understanding.

“The understanding we have is that in places where there is overlap in seats, the machinery will move separately, as long as it does not touch on matters involving the sensitivities of the parties,” he said.

Earlier, Ahmad Zahid attended the Khatam Perdana Programme and the Good and Healthy Food Forum at the Mara Kota Kinabalu Skills Institute here yesterday.

Also present was the chairman of GIATMARA Sepanggar Advisory Committee, Datuk Yakubah Khan, who is also the BN candidate for N16 Karambunai.

BN, which includes Umno, MCA and the Sabah United People’s Party (PBRS), faces at least a four-cornered fight in the 45 seats contested out of the 73 State Legislative Assembly seats.

However, Ahmad Zahid said that this did not weaken BN’s confidence following the combination of support from voters of various races and the readiness of the machinery that is more organised.

“We feel that this time, the opportunities for our candidates are greater and the BN machinery is more organised alongside cooperation from the state liaison bodies that are currently in all 45 constituencies,” he said.

He also rejected claims that BN had a secret collaboration with Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan).

“I have never had a single discussion with Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal...and we do not have an alliance,” he said while not ruling out the possibility of holding negotiations with the party after the election results were announced.

According to him, the political situation in Sabah is different from the Peninsula, where national issues are not dominant, instead voters are more concerned with basic state issues such as infrastructure and utilities.

“Water problems, electricity problems, road problems are the talk of voters in urban and rural areas,” he said.

Regarding the issue of Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue demand, Ahmad Zahid stressed that the federal government has never rejected the demand and is confident that the issue is not the main deciding factor in this campaign.

For the latest news on the 17th Sabah polls, visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php. — Bernama