KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam (pic) has denied rumours that the party's supreme council is advocating for a new political alignment with Sabah STAR and the opposition Parti Warisan.
Deputy Chief Minister II said that PBS is dedicated to the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
"The rumours and speculation are completely unfounded. PBS remains dedicated to the GRS coalition," he said on Sunday (October 6).
His comment comes after a report citing an unnamed party supreme council member suggested that PBS leaders were considering allying with opposition Parti Warisan due to GRS's intent to form an electoral pact with Pakatan Harapan.
PBS and Sabah STAR - led by Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan - are components of the eight-member GRS state coalition government, which has been in alliance with Sabah Pakatan since January 2023.
Dr Joachim criticised the report for using unnamed sources, saying it is an attempt to sow confusion and mislead the public. He urged the community not to be swayed by such unfounded reports.
Some concerns within the PBS supreme council reportedly stem from discontent over GRS’s prospective cooperation with national parties and a hesitance to allocate more native non-Muslim seats to PBS and Sabah STAR.
Earlier this year, PBS and Sabah STAR reached a consensus to contest the majority of the 23 to 25 seats in the Kadazandusun, Rungus and Murut regions in the upcoming elections, aiming to consolidate their non-Muslim native base within GRS. Currently, the two parties hold 13 seats.
Last month, Hajiji informed his Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) members that, despite differences, GRS should collaborate with national parties. He explained that Sabah, unlike the neighbouring Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), was not yet in a position to stand independently and needed the support of national entities.
On Friday (Oct 4) the GRS information chief also refuted claims regarding Sabah STAR and PBS's potential partnership with Warisan, which remains an opposition force at the state level but is part of the unity government at the federal level.
He said that GRS is united under Hajiji, who regularly convenes with leaders of component parties to discuss state and party matters.
