KOTA KINABALU: Sarawak-based Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), which has yet to gain traction in that state, has decided to try its luck in Sabah.
PBK president Voon Lee Shan announced the formation of the party's Sabah wing in time for the forthcoming state election and is inviting any interested and self-funding individuals to volunteer as candidates.
He said those who wish to stand as candidates in the coming state elections must be able to fund their campaign activities and be sincere individuals.
“We do not want opportunists,” he said after launching the party wing here on Friday (Aug 8).
PBK appointed former nominated assemblyman Datuk Ronnie Loh as deputy chairman and Loh’s wife Soh Kee Suat as Sabah chairman.
Soh was a former aide to several assemblymen in Sabah and was also the private secretary to Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat when he was chief minister in the early 2000s.
Voon claimed many people had approached PBK to offer themselves as candidates, but the party would scrutinise them and be selective.
He said the party's struggle for independence for Sabah and Sarawak remains and would be the crux of its political war cry.
Asked why he thinks that he can gain Sabahans’ trust when the party did not get much support in Sarawak, he said it was because of shared issues and concerns.
He said the PBK Sabah wing is led by locals who hold fast to the "Sabah for Sabahans" belief.
As to whether or not Sabah PBK would form electoral pacts in the coming state election, he said only if they shared the same sentiment, but no national-based party would be considered.
PBK was registered in 2013 to fight for the independence of Sabah and Sarawak.
