The Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition will not be launched in Sabah today as reported as negotiations with local parties over membership terms are yet to conclude, said party insiders.
It is understood that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was to officially launch the ruling coalition during his visit to Sabah today and tomorrow.
“The planned announcement was cancelled. The talks failed,” one source was quoted as saying.
This comes just a day after Barisan Nasional (BN) component MIC confirmed on Thursday that it had backtracked from its initial decision to join the PN coalition.
MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran said that the party’s central working committee decided it will not join PN as BN parties did not join the coalition as it previously thought.
BN secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa later explained on Twitter that MIC would not be able to join another political pact on its own, as it is a component of BN.
Another source also confirmed the cancellation, saying it was due to the fact that Sabah-based parties were still talking terms for joining the coalition with its leaders.
The two sources declined to say what had prolonged the talks or whether the parties were deadlocked.
A closed-door meeting between Muhyiddin and local politicians this evening has also been cancelled, said a source.
The signing of an agreement to use the PN symbol for the Sabah election, which was on Muhyiddin’s itinerary, is also scrapped.
SAPP was a component of Barisan Nasional until after 2008 general election, when it left.
The party does not hold a seat in parliament, having lost in all the seven state seats it contested in 2018.
It is understood that apart from SAPP, another other Sabah party which has signed up with PN is Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR).
STAR, led by Deputy Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Jeffrey Kitingan, is also a member of Gabungan Sabah Bersatu with Parti Bersatu Sabah and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah.
All three allies have an MP each and together, they have eight assemblymen in the Sabah legislative assembly.
PAS has confirmed it is on board with Bersatu in PN. The Islamist party has not since indicated that it has changed its mind.
Meanwhile, a public war of words between top Umno and Bersatu leaders have now also threatened the advantage Muhyiddin had in the Parliament, especially with only a razor-thin majority.
It is understood that the deadlock is caused by tense seat negotiations between the parties as Bersatu is trying to accommodate the faction led by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali that has just joined Bersatu in a ceremony last week after defecting from PKR.
A source who is privy to details in the meetings said that in the latest meeting held on Tuesday at the Parliament administration building, Azmin’s faction, known internally as G-10 for its group of 10 MPs, still cannot find a middle ground on cooperating
Earlier this week, it was reported that Muhyiddin was set to announce PN as an official entity next week on Merdeka Day, with Azmin set to be named as its information chief.