TAWAU: Perikatan Nasional (PN) Sabah will not be buried nor “close shop” in Sabah even though some consider it to be “ikan bilis” (small fry) among the parties in the State.
Its Sabah PN Sabah Liaison head Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said steps are being taken to strengthen the party following the exodus led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor out of Bersatu late last year.
“We will fill a number of appointments such as the Deputy Head of PN Sabah and the heads of divisions. The Armada (Youth) Chief has already been appointed by the central PN.
“The head of Srikandi Muda (Young Women) is in the process of issuing appointments and I hope this new leadership will continue the struggle because we in the State are still together with components such as SAPP and PAS which are important,” he said.
He said the party is identifying suitable candidates to hold the positions before the appointments are made by the party’s Secretary General. At the moment, some who remain include the Kinabatangan, Kudat and Beluran division heads.
Dr Ronald said, in reality, PN has 74 parliamentary seats and is certainly not a small coalition.
“There are indeed many challenges but Bersatu used to be a small and opposition party but we are making strides.”
The previous PN government, he said, had already taken steps as the first government to establish a special Ministry for Sabah and Sarawak to see the best approach in solving some of the matters enshrined in MA63, in accordance with the aspirations of the people.
