PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan announced today that PBS was leaving Barisan Nasional (BN) to forge an alliance called Gabungan Bersatu with Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR).
He also invited state assemblymen and supporters of BN components Umno, United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), to join PBS directly as party members.
Speaking in a press conference at the PBS headquarters here today, Pairin did not say if Umno, a peninsula-based party, had been invited as well.
When asked if this meant the end of Umno in Sabah, he smiled and said: “One could have figured that out without me having to say it.”
He added that the decision was agreed to by Sabah Umno chairman Musa Aman, who had been chief minister since 2003.
A party source said Musa had received PBS’ membership form but needed to resign from Umno first.
On the Sabah governor summoning assemblymen from Parti Warisan Sabah and Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties DAP and PKR, as well as six former BN reps who defected yesterday, to the palace tonight, possibly to be sworn in as the new government, Pairin said it was a repeat of PBS’ political fiasco in 1994.
With the addition of the six reps from Umno and Upko, the PH-Warisan pact now has 35 state seats over BN’s 25. Warisan president Shafie Apdal is expected to be made chief minister.
“When are Sabahan leaders going to grow up and mature in their political engagement? Political leapfrogging is not a practice that should be taught to young Sabahans,” Pairin said.
“The sickening act of ‘YB trading’ or political leapfrogging (‘lompat katak’) from the government party to the opposition to cause the downfall of an elected government must stop at once because this is a dishonourable act,” he added.
Following the general election in 1994 in which PBS retained power in the state with 25 seats against the 23 won by BN, several PBS assemblymen defected to align themselves with the Umno-led BN which then took over the state.
Pairin also said PBS recognised the state government formed on May 10, with Musa as the chief minister, as the legally constituted government elected by the people in accordance with the state constitution.
“PBS and its elected representative will continue to support and endorse Chief Minister Musa Aman as the leader of this elected government,” he said.
“All political parties and the people of Sabah should accept and respect this legally constituted state government based on the 29 elected BN representatives and two elected members from STAR, giving a simple majority of two state seats at the time of the chief minister’s oath-taking ceremony at the Istana Negeri in Kota Kinabalu.”
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2011/01/11/anwar-lied-to-sabahans-in-1994-too/