Speaking at the launch of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah’s (PBRS) 3rd triennial convention here, Zahid pointed out BN made a mistake in the last Sabah polls by trusting PN.

He said now that BN has regained its strength, the component parties in the state, namely Umno and PBRS, must “kill the snake first” if it wanted to return to power in Sabah.

“For the 15th general election (GE15), Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin and PBRS deputy president Arthur Kurup and I will not be fooled again.

“We have emerged stronger and believe that we can win big in GE15, but first we must make sure we kill the snake, so it cannot attack us again. But who can kill it? Only BN in Sabah,” Zahid said.

He also accused PN of breaking their “gentleman’s agreement” in the Sabah state elections which took place in September 2020.

“There was a gentleman’s agreement where we would take care of our areas and they would take care of theirs.

“Instead, there were many former BN leaders who had crossed over and then planted as independent candidates in seats that were contested by BN,” Zahid said.

He added that political manipulation also resulted in another name being proposed as the chief minister candidate although the post had been initially promised to BN.

Former prime minister Najib Razak had previously said it was the betrayal by PN in the Sabah state elections that led to Bersatu’s fallout with Umno and spoiled its chances of joining Muafakat Nasional (MN).

Meanwhile, Zahid said BN has yet to decide on whether it will work with PN for the next general election (GE15) in Sabah.

Although BN’s stand of going solo was clear for the Melaka polls and in the upcoming Johor elections, he said the BN leadership, as well as state chapter, would need to deliberate over the matter first for Sabah.

“Sabah is different from other states and we must take into account the views of Sabah BN component parties.

“A decision will be made after we look at it closely,” he said.

Sabah BN is part of the Bersatu-led Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government.

On GRS’ official registration, Zahid said while BN supported the move, it would prove difficult due to BN’s constitution which does not allow a component party to be part of another official political alliance.

“We are in support of GRS being registered but the obstacle is that Umno is the core party in BN and we need to preserve that,” he said.