Good riddance to PCS: Jeffrey
Published on: Monday, July 03, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: The departure of Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) from the United Sabah Alliance (USA) initially affected the coalition but they have learned to live with it now. Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) President Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan admitted that when PCS left, the local opposition alliance was deeply affected because of the bad perception the "divorce" left on the public. "But later, we realised it is better in the long run. If someone wanted to become a member but then change their minds, it would have become a problem for us if they left later. So if they wanted to leave, better leave now.
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"We want the alliance to be strong and in a way, I can say that the alliance had become stronger after PCS left. We were three but now we are four. And the number may increase with a few others toying with the idea," he told a press conference after closing the party's first convention, here, Sunday.The convention was attended by 428 participants from all over the State. Jeffrey was also joined by leaders from the coalition; USA Chairman Datuk Mohd Noor Mansoor, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS) President Datu Mohd Arshad Abdul Mualap.Commenting on whether the coalition had heard anything, Noor said so far, there is no communication with fellow colleague Parti Warisan Sabah led by former Umno Vice President Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
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He said Warisan will not be coaxed into joining the coalition as they could still work together."We don't close the door for discussion. We know what we are doing, what we want for Sabah.
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We can always talk to other opposition parties, including Warisan."On the other hand, if we determined that there are some parts of their struggle that are against our agenda, then that could be a bit difficult," he said.In fact, said Noor, there is no written contract between members of the coalition as the understanding is only based on trust and faith in each other's honesty.Nevertheless, Noor stopped short of declaring that the coalition is also open to collaborate with the Malaya-based opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan."The point is, we can discuss with anybody. Whether we will come to an agreement or not, that is another story," he said.Meanwhile, Jeffrey said the current political situation, not just in Sabah but also worldwide is pointing towards the return of nationalism.Banking on this conviction, he is very confident that local based opposition parties such as the coalition who fight for nationalist agenda will prevail in the coming election."This is why we want to aggressively increase our membership also because based on previous experience, our votes came mainly from our members. We won some votes from non-members as well, but those were bonuses and we don't want to rely on bonuses only. We want certainty," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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