KOTA KINABALU: Deputy President of the Democratic People’s Welfare Party (KDM), Datuk Wetrom Bahanda, has denied ever negotiating with any party on the formation of a new political coalition in Sabah, including discussions with the STAR President Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.
He said that reports claiming Jeffrey met with him about the possibility of KDM joining the ‘Gerakan Bersatu Sabah’ (GBS) are false and were never discussed.
“It’s not true (that KDM will join the formation of GBS), I have never talked with anyone about this, including Datuk Jeffrey.
“KDM remains firm in its previous stance to operate independently in the upcoming State Election (PRN), a decision that aligns with the grassroots’ desire for KDM to contest alone.
“How could we go against the wishes of the grassroots? I reiterate, KDM as a local party will go solo in the upcoming PRN,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Earlier, a portal reported that a new political bloc is being formed under the proposed name ‘Gerakan Bersatu Sabah’ (GBS) by former component parties of the Sabah People’s Coalition (GRS), namely the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and STAR.
The report mentioned that Jeffrey, when contacted, indicated he had discussed with several local party leaders interested in joining the new bloc, with plans to officially launch GBS a few days before the nomination day on November 15 for the Sabah PRN on November 29.
One of the main parties reportedly being courted by Jeffrey is KDM, and he also claimed to have spoken with Wetrom about the possibility of KDM joining GBS but remains uncertain given KDM’s earlier announcement that it would contest in 38 seats. – John Tambanan
