BEAUFORT: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) has rejected claims that the party is now shaky and may lose several seats in the state elections following Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star)’s exit from the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition.
PBS Vice President Datuk Ruslan Muharam said the lack of cooperation between PBS and Star is not hurting the party and could, in fact, increase its chances of winning more seats.
“Even though Star is no longer with GRS, five of its assemblymen did not follow the Star President’s path and instead stayed with GRS and are contesting to defend their seats under the coalition banner.
“Their machinery will be led by PBS along with GRS component, the Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) in their respective seats,” he said when met after officiating the PBS Youth Leisure Programme here.
On PBS’s preparations to defend the Lumadan seat, Ruslan, who also holds that seat, said PBS’s machinery is ready to ensure Lumadan remains with the party.
At the same time, the PBS Lumadan Division Chief also expressed confidence that the party’s majority will increase, following strong voter support in the area due to solid grassroots work during his tenure as the Lumadan representative.
“In almost five years, we have resolved all the major issues inherited from the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government in many villages. Issues like water supply, flooding and damaged roads.
“For example, the water supply issue: in just two years we fixed the problem faced by residents in Weston, Kampung Lubuk who for months only got water a few days each month.
“Now, they enjoy water supply every day, and the same in Kampung Suasa and other villages, thanks to our commitment to resolve this fully,” he said.
Similarly, for flooding problems he said places like Bukau used to remain waterlogged for months during floods, but now the floodwaters recede in under a week thanks to river-cleaning efforts led by his team.
As for damaged village roads, he said almost 50pc of the roads across 84 villages in the area have been upgraded, and he is confident that if given the mandate, the problem will be fully solved going forward.
“All these problems were longstanding legacies without solutions, yet in just one term we managed to address them. Together with Gagasan Rakyat Lumadan, we are confident of the people’s support no matter who the opposing party’s candidate is,” he stressed.
