Kota Kinabalu: Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS) Chairman Tan Sri Liew Yun Fah said its focus is on recapturing urban opposition strongholds such as Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu in the coming parliamentary election.
Liew said the party is positioning itself as a key flank for the ruling coalition, aiming to bridge the gap in areas where GRS struggled during the previous polls.
“As a member of GRS, my priority is to support the coalition. Initially, we will concentrate on areas where GRS was unsuccessful. We will assess other territories later,” Liew told reporters during an Aidilfitri open house hosted by media practitioner Zakaria Damit early this week.
Addressing the state’s shifting political landscape, Liew dismissed the notion that PHRS is a mono-ethnic vehicle.
Despite the focus on urban centres, he said the party’s 40,000 members across nearly 100 branches represent a multi-ethnic grassroots base.
He expressed confidence that Chinese voters, in particular, are ready to swing their support back to the ruling government.
On the contentious issue of Sabah’s 40 per cent net federal revenue entitlement, Liew reminded both government and opposition leaders that internal divisions remain the biggest obstacle to success.
“The people of Sabah need to unite on this matter. At present, divisions — where some support leaders in negotiations while others back those on the sidelines — create a gap that weakens our position,” he said.
Liew said the 40pc claim is a constitutional right that goes beyond party lines.
He urged all political stakeholders to adopt a common direction, saying a united Sabahan voice would make the demand harder for the Federal Government to ignore.
With the state election approaching, he said PHRS’s move to expand its reach signals GRS’s intent to strengthen its presence beyond traditional rural bases and challenge the opposition’s hold on Sabah’s major cities.
