PITAS: Acting Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) President Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam called on party members to remain united.
He wants all members to ensure victory of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition by supporting whoever is fielded for the Bengkoka seat in the next state election.
“If we are not united in politics, it will make it easier for the opposition to win the election.
For instance, in the last state election, there were 10 Kadazan, Dusun, Murut and Rungus (KDMR) candidates here and the opposition at that time won easily,” he said at the opening of the Bengkoka PBS division annual meeting at the Bengkoka Futsal Square.
A total of 569 delegates attended the AGM.
Dr Joachim, who is also Deputy Chief Minister II, also praised and congratulated the Division Chief, Dr Samuil Mopun, and his committee members for successfully increasing the number of active members from only 1,002 in 2020.
“Today, I am very proud that they now have more than 4,000 active members and I believe this number can still be increased,” he said.
Dr Joachim said the GRS government is currently focusing efforts on demanding Sabah’s rights enshrined in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).
He said during the 20-year rule of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in Sabah, Sabah’s rights, such as the 40 per cent entitlement, were not prioritised.
“The 40 per cent claimed is the revenue collected by the Federal Government from Sabah and not from other states in the peninsula,” said Dr Joachim who is also Local Government and Housing Minister.
Also present were observers from GRS component parties, including the Bengkoka Division Chief of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (StarSabah), Maklin Masiau, SAPP representative Dr Bristol Mokujal, Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) Deputy Division Chief Sotijin Juhui, PBS Youth Chief Christopher Mandut, PBS Supreme Council member Goon Thien Shang and Organising Chairman Sungkim Rumangun.
