KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) will use the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) logo for the coming 15th General Election (GE15), says Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili (pic).
The PBS president said the party will comply with the consensus reached by the GRS leadership previously.
“Of course, we will use the (GRS) logo, that has been decided,” the incumbent Kota Marudu MP told reporters after a meeting at the party’s headquarters in Penampang near here on Friday (Oct 14).
This decision to use the GRS logo is seen as a move away from PBS’ preferred choice of using its own logo in the Sabah snap election in September 2020.
Although they were part of the then loose GRS coalition, the party opted not to join either Perikatan Nasional or Barisan Nasional but instead contested under its own logo, winning seven state seats.
PBS, in the 1980s, though part of Barisan then, always contested under its own logo. Only when it returned to the Barisan fold in 2002 did the party begin using the Barisan logo, starting from the 2004 general election.
To a question on whether the people were more familiar with the PBS logo compared to the GRS symbol, Ongkili said: “Of course (but) this is the decision made by GRS. So, we comply with that.
“Because we are part of the government, so I think the important thing is the solidarity behind the whole move - this is for unity and solidarity. We are supposed to be seen together.
“No harm in using GRS logo first but we will still go down to the ground with our flag,” he said.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor had previously said all GRS component parties were united in facing GE15 and have already reached several agreements including using a common symbol.
Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan had also previously said his party will be contesting under the GRS logo for the coming polls.
Meanwhile, Ongkili parried questions on seats PBS was eyeing in GE15, saying GRS has not even decided on which and how many of the 25 Sabah parliamentary seats it would contest.
“There is no announcement on when the election will be held too,” he said.
