KOTA KINABALU – Parti Bersatu Sabah will never forget United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation’s (Upko) betrayal in leaving Barisan Nasional (BN) right after the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018, said PBS president Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili.
He said that PBS was deeply hurt by Upko when it decided to leave the BN pact to form the Sabah government with Warisan.
“PBS had again become the opposition as a result of Upko’s greedy move; this was after they signed the President Council 2018 memorandum to strengthen our fortress against our political opponent at the time.
“But it was not even over yet (at the time)… we had only finished counting votes, they (Upko) had already jumped to the other side.
“What kind of friends are they? They abandoned the pact,” he said at the PBS congress, which ends here today.
Ongkili was referring to the memorandum signed between three Kadazandusun Murut parties – PBS, Upko, and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah in April 2018, a month before GE14, which aimed to strengthen BN in facing the election.
He said PBS’ members should be proud that since the party was established, it had never gone off track from its core values as a pro-political stability party.
Ongkili also said PBS has always invested in the principle of honourable politics, and strongly supports the passing of the anti-hopping bill.
“To us in PBS, this is not only professional but subscribes to the ‘dignity of man’, especially so when we are victims of party-hopping,” he said.
As such, Ongkili urged all MPs in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and PBS to be vocal in supporting the anti-hopping bill, ensuring that it will be passed as soon as possible. – The Vibes, July 1, 2022
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