Mositun (left) presenting the party’s membership card to a new member in Kampung Kaiduan.
PAPAR: A proposed merger of opposition political parties in Sabah has been called off for practical reasons but that does not mean the ruling coalition can rest on its laurels.
“I am of the view that there are merits to the proposal, but at this stage it might be premature. After all, there is still a long way to go before the next general election and the political scenario in the country and state have yet to become really clear. Anything can happen between now and then.
“If we dissolve our respective parties now in haste, and the situation changes later, we would have tied ourselves in knots unnecessarily to face GE15. That is what PBS does not want happening,” PBS vice-president Datuk Johnny Mositun said at Kg. Kaiduan here after a meeting with local residents.
Mositun,who is the PBS Division head for the Limbahau Constituency, was referring to a statement by Sabah STAR president Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan that after a weekend meeting with opposition leaders, they decided not to dissolve their respective parties to merge to form a single opposition party.
“Our president, Datuk Seri Dr. Maximus Ongkili has PBS’ stand clear. Dissolution of our party, which has struggled for our ideals for 35 years, is unimaginable.
Our members have stayed with us through all these years because of those ideals. We will not abandon them or our ideals in the mere hope of regaining political power,” Mositun said.
Mositun, however, said PBS was ready to cooperate with all and any other opposition parties to face the next general election.
“Cooperation is not a problem, even a loose coalition, but dissolution of PBS? Definitely not,” he said.
Mositun said PBS was not in opposition just for the sake of opposing the government but only to uphold its ideals and objectives for Sabah.
“What is good for Sabah, PBS will support, but what is not good we will oppose with all our might. This stand has earned the loyalty and respect of PBS members and is also attracting new members, especially from the younger generation, who are fed up of seeing local political parties jumping this way and that way before and after each election for power and position.
“The new generation of voters want to see political parties and leaders of consistency and genuine commitment to Sabah. That’s why we are seeing an increasing number of new membership applications in Limbahau today,” Mositun said on welcoming new members into the party.
Mositun added PBS also viewed the state government’s efforts to raise funds to help the People’s Republic of China in combating the Covid-19 epidemic in its Wuhan Province as noble and should be supported.
“But while helping China is commendable, the basic principle remains and that is to protect our own people first. So spend resources and medical expertise on your own people as a priority,” Mositun said in response to those who had been critical about the fund to help China.
Mositun added that he was happy to note that the people in Kg. Kaiduan decided to pass the hat around so that they too can contribute to the government’s Covid-19 Fund. This is in the true spirit of Christianity and humanity,” Mositun said.