“We (PBS) just had our 32nd party congress and, judging from the response from the delegates, everyone is all geared up to put up a good fight in the coming general election.
“There was no indication at all that the oldest party in Sabah will leave Barisan Nasional. We are very much still BN’s biggest supporter,” he told FMT.
Mandut added that Nointin should leave matters pertaining to PBS to party members and concentrate on his own political stand.
“We, in PBS, are not political deserters like former PBS leaders, Nointin included, have done.”
Nointin, who recently joined Parti Warisan Sabah, allegedly with 1,119 supporters, had stated it was about time for PBS to leave the BN coalition.
Nointin also accused PBS of losing its focus and direction under acting president Maximus Ongkili. He claimed the leadership seemed no longer focused on its core principles and original aims.
Mandut said: “Long ago, Nointin had promised to work hard with PBS. He believed in our struggles.
“But suddenly he has had a change of heart as the general election draws closer. He was hoping to be a YB (Yang Berhormat) through PBS.
“Tell me if this is sincere. He dares to trash his former colleagues in BN to gain people’s sympathy and support. That, to me, does not show qualities of a good leader.”
He stressed that PBS has had three decades of experience, both good and bad. The party is now matured and stronger than ever to fight the struggles and face challenges ahead.
Meanwhile PBS Kiulu assemblyman Joniston Bangkuai said the number of people who joined Warisan in Keningau was still small compared to the total number of voters in the area.
However, Bangkuai acknowledged that having been around in the area for quite a long time, Nointin certainly had his own followers.
“But at the end of the day, let people judge him, why he left, what exactly he wanted.
“He claimed PBS is no longer relevant. But if that is true, why then did he leave Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) before to join this now ‘irrelevant’ PBS?”
Bangkuai said since Nointin had made up his mind, it was best to let him pursue his ambitions.
Perhaps, he said, Nointin, who had been campaigning to get nominated for one of the seats in Keningau, thought he would not be given the chance in the next general election in PBS and that was why he left the party.
After all, said Bangkuai, Nointin had made no secret about his ambitions and had worked very hard to get nominated.
“Will his leaving PBS affect the party’s support? It is difficult to say.
“Any political leader will have some followers but will that be enough to win the seats?
“This election will be the best way to determine if he has the necessary support or not,” he said.