KOTA KINABALU, July 3 -- Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan has laid down conditions for any collaboration between Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the upcoming state election, insisting that local parties must lead Sabah's political direction, not Putrajaya.

The Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president said that while his party is open to cooperation, any arrangement involving PH must preserve local autonomy and include clear seat allocations.

"We have outlined two options. First, we divide the 73 state seats among ourselves in GRS. Then, if any of the eight component parties want to work with PH, they can relinquish their seats - negotiations are up to them.

"Or, we can agree to alloca...