Kota Kinabalu: Sabah PKR is confident that the issue regarding the position of the Sabah Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman will not affect the coalition's unity and cooperation in facing the next state election. Sabah PKR chairman Datuk Mustapha Sakmud stated that the matter is technical in nature and should be resolved by the PH Presidential Council, the coalition's highest committee comprising PKR, DAP, Amanah, and the United Kinabalu Progressive Organisation (UPKO).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mustapha emphasized that any decision, whether at the central or state level, must be processed through the Presidential Council, especially when it involves differences within the PH coalition. He assured that no final decision has been reached by the Presidential Council on this issue and that state-level leaders will adhere to any decision made. Mustapha shared these insights during a media interaction after his working visit to Politeknik Ungku Omar (PUO).

The debate over the PH chairman position arose last December when UPKO president Datuk Ewon Benedick, also the Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development, was appointed as the new Sabah PH chairman for the 2024-2026 term. However, reports on January 12 indicated that Sabah PKR still hopes to retain the PH chairman position, which is currently held by Ewon, expressing their desire to have it remain within their party as it was previously.