Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee has questioned whether Sabah STAR stands to gain from its increasingly close political ties with Warisan, saying the arrangement could ultimately benefit Warisan more.

Yong said Warisan, led by Mohd Shafie Apdal, appeared more interested in leveraging Sabah STAR’s grassroots support, particularly in traditional strongholds such as Keningau.

Speaking to reporters after SAPP’s annual congress, the former Sabah chief minister said Sabah STAR faced a strategic decision over whether to contest the next general election under its own logo or cooperate with Warisan.

He cited the attendance of Sabah STAR leaders at Warisan’s recent congress in Sandakan, where Shafie announced plans to contest all 26 parliamentary seats in Sabah and Labuan.

“People who support Jeffrey may not necessarily support Shafie,” he said, referring to Sabah STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan.

Yong who spoke to reporters during the party convention held on Sunday argued that Sabah STAR’s electoral support was closely associated with Jeffrey’s personal leadership and his longstanding advocacy for Sabah rights.

“Like it or not, Jeffrey is the brand,” he said, warning that Sabah STAR supporters might not automatically transfer their support to candidates associated with Warisan.

He said any electoral cooperation could therefore strengthen Warisan more than Sabah STAR.

Both SAPP and Sabah STAR were previously members of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) but withdrew to contest independently in the November 2025 state election. Sabah STAR won two seats while SAPP failed to secure any.

Sabah STAR and Parti KDM have since been seen moving towards a possible electoral understanding ahead of the general election.

Yong said SAPP remained focused on Sabah-centric issues while assessing its own electoral strategy.

He also warned that the next general election could reshape Sabah’s political influence at federal level.

He said local parties must retain sufficient parliamentary representation to ensure Sabah and Sarawak remain important players in government formation and negotiations over the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

The worst outcome, he said, would be for Peninsular-based coalitions to secure enough seats to form the Federal Government without relying on MPs from Sabah and Sarawak.

“If political blocs in Peninsular Malaysia can form the government by themselves, Sabah and Sarawak will lose much of their bargaining power in pursuing issues such as MA63,” he said.