SOME parties in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition have been asked to withdraw their candidates before the state election this Saturday to prevent clashes between parties in the pact, Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general Hamzah Zainuddin said.

He said in a report by Utusan Malaysia that negotiations have been held and the pact will soon announce sole candidates for seats where GRS parties are contesting against each other.

“God-willing, this matter can be settled before the 26th or as soon as possible, maybe Tuesday, we can make a joint announcement,” he was quoted as saying.

GRS is the opposition in the state election and comprises PN, Barisan Nasional (BN), Sabah parties STAR, SAPP and PBS.

Despite earlier negotiations, there were clashes between PN, BN and PBS in 17 seats after nominations were filed on September 12.

Hamzah, who is also home minister and Bersatu secretary-general, said people must “trust” that a consensus has been reached.

“I have met and discussed with the PBS president, and in the end they agreed to be friends with PN,” he said. – September 21, 2020.