At an event to announce the candidates and present their candidacy letters, Anifah said he would contest the Bongawan state seat.

Previously, he had said the party would contest as many seats as possible.

PCS, widely known as a Kadazandusun Murut party but which now positions itself as a multiracial outfit, was approved by the Registrar of Societies in 2013.

It was previously led by former Sabah deputy chief minister Wilfred Bumburing who is now the party’s deputy president.

While many of the candidates are young professionals, others include veteran leaders such as former PKR divisional chief Ansari Abdullah, who will be contesting the new Darau seat in the Sepanggar parliamentary constituency. He is also PCS secretary-general.

Former Upko vice-president Ewon Ebin will contest the Kundasang seat (Ranau parliamentary constituency) while former state assistant minister Pang Nyuk Ming will stand in Api-Api (Kota Kinabalu).

Anifah said PCS was not in the election just to make up the numbers but had set its sights on forming the next state government.

“Who doesn’t want to win 100%? We want to win every seat contested,” he said.

“I don’t think PBS will contest 37 seats. So, they can never form the government.

“How about STAR? If only five seats, then it’s better to go home and sleep.

“We are contesting to win because we want to govern Sabah. We love our state so much.”

He said his speech on wanting Sabah to be governed by Sabahans did not mean PCS was being confrontational towards the federal government.

“We are saying: ‘Let Sabah be administered by Sabahans, but we will still maintain the relationship with the central government.’

“Leave it to us to decide our future and destiny, but we’ll still work with the federal government,” he said.

Asked whether he had ruled out the possibility of working with peninsula-based parties, he said he had not done so but that the latter did not need PCS and vice versa.

“But if we win, then there’s no need. If there is a need, I will inform later.

“We are on our own. So, why do we need to work with others when we are capable of forming the government (on our own)?

“But I’ve always kept the door open for local parties (to work with PCS) if they have the same vision and mission like us, that is to fight for our (Sabah) special rights.”

Earlier, in his speech, Anifah said PCS would set up a special ministry to look after the oil and gas industry in Sabah if it formed the next state government.