He said this at the close of a one-day event here yesterday called “Tatap BN”, which for the first time brought together PBS, Upko and PBRS to discuss how the parties can work together to ensure victory for their candidates in the 14th general election (GE14).
The convention was attended by senior leaders of the three BN KDM parties, including heads of the women and youth wings.
Pairin said the component parties acknowledged that a solid working relationship and understanding were vital to prevent the previous fate of the KDM parties.
“In GE13, unfortunately, many of our candidates lost because of the lack of cooperation and understanding.
“It is time we move forward. We know what happened before, so let us learn to be humble. By logic and common sense, we should stand shoulder to shoulder and pursue our common objectives. Let us speak as one voice.
“When we are united in our objectives to bring victory to our BN candidates, there is no reason we should lose in the coming election.”
In GE13, PBS suffered the most, losing six state seats and one parliamentary seat while Upko lost two state seats and one parliamentary seat.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Pairin said the three parties should close ranks and work towards delivering victory in GE14.
“This is because of the increasing awareness among ourselves and the importance of working together is so clear. That is what we want.
“That’s why we come together to strengthen each and every one of us. We also want to ensure our candidates will win. With this strength and sense of unity, I don’t see our candidates having any problem at all.
“The people would like to see this come into effect. Unity is something which we all share and want to have. In fact, the people are the ones who encourage us to work together. And that is important.”
He said it was important for the people to see candidates from the three parties as not merely representing their parties but ultimately BN.
Also present were Upko acting president Wilfred Madius Tangau, PBS deputy president Maximus Ongkili and PBRS deputy president Arthur Kurup.
PBRS president Joseph Kurup was present during the opening earlier, which was officiated by Chief Minister Musa Aman.
Musa had praised the BN component parties for their work ethic, saying BN could win again if the component parties worked with each other.
“We can win again if we cooperate well with each other as we are a proven government. We’ve won in past elections but we mustn’t take our victory for granted because the political landscape is changing, which we have to adapt to,” he said.
Musa: KDM leaders like Pairin, Madius, Maximus, Kurup, Sabah’s true fighters