KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will know in a month whether it could spread its wings to Sabah.
Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that it is now in discussion with pro-Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sabah-based Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) over the prospect of Bersatu opening branches and divisions in the state.
Muhyiddin, who is Home Minister, said that the time period needs to be reasonable as the talks also involve former Umno leaders and members who jumped ship recently.
“There is no timeframe but it needs to be a reasonable period.
“Let Datuk Shafie (Apdal, who is Sabah Chief Minister and Warisan president), (Datuk) Darell (Leiking, International Trade and Industry Minister and Warisan deputy president) and others discuss with (Datuk) Hajiji (Noor, one of the defectors from Sabah Umno) over a reasonable time period.
“In a month’s time or slightly over a month. If after that time the discussion is settled and the decision is known, then can I decide on the next step,” he told the media at Bersatu headquarters here on Monday.
He was answering a question on the prospect of Bersatu setting up base in Sabah and how long the talks would take.
On whether the upcoming 2nd Bersatu annual general assembly would open the doors for the party to establish itself in Sabah and Sarawak, Muhyiddin said Bersatu has not made its move into both states due to certain unresolved issues.
He said that these unresolved matters, among others, involve Sabah, where he had met with Shafie and promised to the latter that Bersatu would not unilaterally spread its wings to Sabah.
“We (Bersatu) promised (Shafie) that we would not spread our wings to Sabah (unilaterally) in order to make Warisan a place for Sabahans to turn to.
“Our strategy was correct. That is why they (Warisan) won (in the 14th general election) because there was no clash (between parties for the same parliamentary seats) thanks to the cooperation with Pakatan Harapan.
“If there is a fresh demand by people there (for Bersatu) to establish itself there, we have to be careful.
“I told Shafie to discuss with them (people of Sabah) first.
“This is to ensure there is no clash of interests between our party (Bersatu), their party (Warisan) and other parties,” he said, adding that understanding between parties is important before Bersatu can be established in Sabah.
With regards to Sarawak, Muhyiddin said that despite the initial Dec 1 launch of a Bersatu branch in Sarawak, the party is being careful as the situation in the state differs from both Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.
He noted that not only has there been no official discussion on any further opening of Bersatu branches with state ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), but there are also other PH component parties in the state.
“For Sarawak, we have to be careful and be choosy.
“Merely setting up one or two branches is one thing, but (Bersatu) has no intention of spreading its wings to the whole (of Saarwak).
“Sarawak is big. It is not an easy matter to manage,” he said.
