KOTA KINABALU, June 25 — Four more local parties in Sabah want to join the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition which has five parties on board currently, said GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

The Sabah Chief Minister said the applications from the parties would be discussed and considered by the GRS before making a decision on acceptance.

However, he did not reveal which were the parties involved.

"This means that what we have been doing all this while since getting the people’s mandate (in the state election) has captivated the hearts of friends from other parties (which want to join GRS).

"Otherwise, they (the parties) would not be seeking to join GRS, maybe this is what the people want, to see a strong coalition to rule Sabah in the future,” he said at a dinner with Sabah Bersatu’s Youth wing (Armada) here yesterday.

Hajiji said GRS was a coalition that always wanted to create harmony among the component parties of the coalition which together provided the best service to the people.

The components of GRS now are Sabah Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), Parti Maju Sabah (SAPP) and United Sabah National Organisation (USNO). The coalition together with Barisan Nasional are administering Sabah.

Before this, it was reported that Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), Liberal Democratic Party, (LDP) and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) had applied to join GRS. — Bernama