KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) is spreading the word to its grassroots to support any Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) candidates, regardless of which component party they represent, in the coming state elections.
Native-based multiracial parties PBS and Sabah STAR are working to ensure that their respective grassroots support any candidate contesting on a GRS ticket in Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus seats.
In a show of support for the cooperation agreement between the two parties, PBS president Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam visited the Tulid state constituency, currently held by Sabah STAR's Datuk Flovia Ng.
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Dr Gunsalam made it clear to his grassroots that they must support the GRS candidate in the state election, due by Nov 11.
“I hope all PBS members in Tulid will give full cooperation to any component party in GRS," the Deputy Chief Minister II told party members in the interior seat in Keningau district recently.
Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Dr Gunsalam have agreed that both parties would not ask for their candidates to be fielded in seats they currently hold.
PBS has seven seats while Sabah STAR holds six.
The two parties, bitter rivals until after the 2018 general election, held a convention earlier this month to strengthen their cooperation.
They aim to contest more than 20 non-Muslim native seats under GRS, led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
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“The cooperation within GRS is the best for us (PBS and Sabah STAR). The convention reflected an agreement that needs to be continued and translated when the time comes to officially merge,” Dr Gunsalam told his party members in Telupid.
He said PBS was committed to supporting the decisions of the GRS top leadership in its choice of candidates.
In the 2020 state election, both parties fielded candidates against each other despite a prevailing agreement.
The two parties, major partners in GRS, agreed last year to work together as a team with an eye on merging into a single political entity to unite the non-Muslim natives.
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Following the fall of the PBS government led by Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan in 1994, the Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus have been widely divided by various splinter parties that emerged.
Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), under Barisan Nasional, and Upko, under Pakatan Harapan, are strong in certain seats, while the state opposition Parti Warisan has also gained ground in some non-Muslim seats, particularly in semi-urban areas.
Hajiji's Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, the anchor of GRS, also holds some non-Muslim native seats.
