PBRS goes back to Sabah Barisan after being rejected by Pakatan

KOTA KINABALU: Finding themselves in a lurch after getting no encouragement from Pakatan Harapan member parties in Sabah, PBRS has decided to regroup itself with Sabah Barisan Nasional.

Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), which had in May applied to join PH, was left with no response from the coalition and has now decided to realign itself with Sabah Barisan.

Sabah Umno Youth Chief Abdul Aziz Julkarnain said they have no problem with PBRS remaining in Barisan's fold, and would accept anyone who wants to work with them to make the coalition a formidable opposition bloc.

“Contrary to what people are calling PBRS after its president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup (pic) announced that it was re-aligning itself with Barisan recently, we don’t agree that PBRS is an opportunist,” he said.

He said they understand such moves were part of the changing political dynamics, following a change of government after GE14.

Aziz also said that no one would have thought that DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang could sit together with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, nor Mahathir with PKR president-elect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Kurup meanwhile, explained that PBRS had never officially left BN, despite announcing it wanted to do so in May.

He had on May 12 said that PBRS had decided to pull out of Barisan and had applied to join PH.

However, there were objections from some of the PH component parties, including Sabah PH chairperson Christina Liew.

Kurup said Liew had told him that there was a “very slim chance” of PBRS joining PH.

Kurup said the next best move was to go back to Barisan, as the party needed a strong platform to continue its political struggle for the people and its supporters.

PBRS won two seats in GE14 through its deputy president Datuk Ellron Angin, for the Sook state seat, and Kurup’s son, Arthur, in the Pensiangan parliamentary constituency.