KOTA KINABALU, May 22 -- Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) deputy chairman Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan says it is premature to label the upcoming state election as a contest between local and national political parties.

The Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president stated that the GRS coalition remains open to collaborating with any party, including national alliances such as Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN), in the interest of political stability.

"We have to listen to the people. If the majority say A, then we go with A," he said when asked about the possibility of GRS joining the PH-BN coalition.

Kitingan acknowledged the speculation surrounding a potential "local vs national" battle but stressed that it is too early to ...