“We have recovered well from their departures, and have since then welcomed many more members and potential leaders who will one day become pillars of the party,” he said.
Speaking to FMT, the Tamparuli assemblyman refused to comment on whether there would be more leaders and ordinary members quitting as alleged by those who departed.
The eight — including the three deputy presidents Paul Voon, Nicholas James Guntobon and Richard Gunting — had cited ideological differences and concerns over Bumburing’s choice of allies for the upcoming 14th general election (GE14).
The others were vice-president and Youth chief Hasmin Azroy Abdullah, information chief Ramdi Indang, and supreme council members Melvin Jaikul, Lai Yun Thiam and Pinus Gondili.
In announcing their resignations on March 22, Voon, who led the exodus, had claimed that there would be more members leaving the party in the near future.
The situation however has been relatively calm since then with Bumburing replacing those who left with new faces, pending the party’s next annual general meeting.
Bumburing said he wished well those who had quit.
“I don’t know what they have been up to, whether they will be joining other parties or not, but we want to wish them luck,” he said.
On Gunting’s plan to start a new party called Pewaris, Bumburing said it would only further complicate Sabah’s political scene as there are already too many parties in the state.
He said there were many parties claiming to fight for the rights of the natives, particularly the Kadazandusun Murut community, leading to the people’s votes and support being split.
“This is why PCS and Parti Anak Negeri (PAN) decided to form a pact so that we will not split the votes any further. We don’t want to fight against one another,” he said.
Bumburing said he believed PCS still had a chance to cooperate with other opposition parties in the state, including Parti Warisan Sabah.
He however added that Warisan president Shafie Apdal had expressed two different stands on working with others.
“On the one hand, he said the door is closed. On the other, he said there is still a chance. So I am not sure which is right,” he said.
On April 2, Shafie announced that Warisan’s collaboration with Pakatan Harapan (PH) was a done deal.
Warisan, Sabah PH seat negotiations a done deal, says Shafie