KUDAT, Oct 18 — All component parties of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) must prioritise the interests of Sabah and the coalition over personal or individual party interests, in order to strengthen the state’s bargaining power at the federal level, said its chairman, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

The Chief Minister of Sabah said the state’s political leverage in negotiations at the federal level must be anchored in the internal cohesion of GRS, rather than being undermined by power struggles for positions or political egos.

“There is no point in praising the unity of others if we are still bickering within the GRS fold itself; for the true strength of Sabah begins with our own unity.

“No (component) party is so large that it no longer needs its partners, and no party is so small that its contributions can be dismissed,” he said while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 GRS Convention at Dewan Tun Mustapha here today.