TAWAU: Another Sabah-based party – Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS) – announced Thursday it will contest all 73 seats in the 17th State Election.
PPRS President Datuk Seri Mohd Arshad Abdul Mualap said it is the fourth attempt by the party, which was founded in 2008, to contest in the state polls.
He said the party first fielded three candidates in the 14th State Election, followed by seven in the 15th, 24 in the 16th and now plans to contest all 73 constituencies.
He would not be contesting despite being President, as he believes all the candidates fielded by PPRS are qualified to be Chief Minister should it form the government.
“All of them are Sabah-born educated, have strong backgrounds and a genuine desire to develop the State,” he said after the Appointment Letter Presentation Ceremony at Dewan Kelab Fajar, Thursday.
On whether his decision not to contest was related to the document fraud case he previously faced, Mohd Arshad admitted that he had once been charged in court but that he had won the case.
“Yes, I was once slandered, accused of making fake identity cards (ICs). That is not true. There was a discussion between me and the then Home Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin and all applications I submitted were done with proper discretion.
“The discussions we had were aimed at helping Sabahans who lacked documents and the issue was even raised in Parliament,” he said, adding that he did not file any legal suit despite winning the case as he did not wish to prolong the matter.
Mohd Arshad said the party’s focus is on citizenship issues affecting Sabah-borns who lack proper documentation.
