Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Barisan Nasional has slammed component party Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) for allowing one of its members to clash with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in the general election.
Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin said the coalition’s state chapter did not give PBRS the greenlight to contest in any other seat than the one allotted to it – Pensiangan.
However, Ranau PBRS leader Ewon Ebin had filed nomination papers to contest the parliamentary seat, which was given to GRS under its electoral pact with Sabah BN.
Bung Moktar said Sabah BN had asked PBRS to stand down and withdraw from contesting the seat.
“We have given PBRS notice not to challenge in Ranau or anywhere else. Our stand is very clear.
“We do not allow this and PBRS does not have Sabah BN’s blessing to contest in other seats because this violates the agreement between us and GRS,” he told reporters when met on the campaign trail last night.
Bung said Sabah BN could not act against Ebin because he was contesting under PBRS’ own logo. However, he said the matter would be settled in a few days.
In a statement yesterday, PBRS secretary Richard Kastum said party president Joseph Kurup had attempted to contact Ebin on nomination day to ask him to withdraw his candidacy.
However, he said Ebin only read the messages on his mobile phone after leaving the nomination centre.
PBRS, he said, would continue to cooperate for the sake of the GRS candidate’s victory in Ranau.
GRS picked Jonathan Yasin, who won the Ranau seat on a PKR ticket in 2018, to defend the seat. Yasin had defeated Ebin, who had contested on a BN-Upko ticket, in 2018. Yasin defected to Bersatu in 2020.
On the absence of a pledge to appoint deputy prime ministers from Sabah and Sarawak in BN’s manifesto, Bung said this would be included in Sabah BN’s election manifesto which would be launched by the end of the week.
“In principle, they have agreed to this request,” he said, adding that the state chapter’s manifesto was being finalised.
On Sabah’s entitlement to 40% of its revenue, Bung said the state and federal governments should resolve the issue amicably, adding that there must be another mechanism that would satisfy both sides if the whole 40% could not be delivered now.
“It is not that I don’t agree with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), but I think we must start small. Since 1963, it seems that it is very difficult for them to give even one percent, what more 40%.
“We must make relevant requests. I prefer that we go for realistic goals.”
