He added claims that the two GRS component parties wanted to work with Warisan in the upcoming Sabah elections were baseless.

“What’s reported is nothing more than speculation by unscrupulous parties with the malicious intent of destroying the strong unity in GRS.”

The PBS information chief was commenting on a Facebook post by Petagas PBS division chief Azmi Ahmad claiming that PBS, STAR and Warisan would form an alliance in the upcoming state election.

Joniston said Hajiji and GRS component party leaders held frequent meetings to tackle state and party issues.

He said this reflected the coalition’s strong sense of unity, adding that STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan and PBS acting president Joachim Gunsalam were committed to GRS.

They had stressed on the need to coordinate efforts to strengthen the coalition at a recent joint PBS-STAR leadership council meeting, he added.

Earlier, Petagas PBS deputy division chief Ng Tze Tsai said in a separate statement that Azmi’s Facebook post did not reflect the stand of PBS or the Petagas PBS division and should be considered his personal opinion.

“We are committed to supporting GRS under chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji’s leadership,” he added.