PBS, STAR not looking to leave GRS, says info chief

GRS information chief Joniston Bangkuai dismissed speculation about the two parties distancing themselves from the coalition, especially as both have been consistent in their commitment to the group of Sabah-based parties.

Joniston, who is also PBS information chief, said GRS component parties had leveraged their influence to strengthen the coalition with the aim of further developing Sabah, adding that it would be politically counterproductive for any of them to break away from GRS.

He said the focus should be on ensuring that GRS, including its founding parties such as PBS and STAR, could address pressing issues such as rural infrastructure, economic empowerment and youth development — areas which all parties in the coalition were already actively contributing to.

“The idea that PBS or STAR would abandon that progress just doesn’t hold water. If anything, we are moving forward with greater determination to deliver results under GRS,” he said.

“Why abandon something that you helped build, only to align with others that are similar in form but not necessarily in vision or mission?

“It’s normal for such questions to surface, but the reality is, there’s no internal push for separation. In fact, we’re doubling down on cooperation,” he said in a statement.

The Kiulu assemblyman was responding to a recent FMT report in which political analysts said PBS and STAR should not leave GRS ahead of the upcoming state polls.

Joniston also said the parties should work to consolidate GRS’s message, ensure continuity in its policies, and prove that the coalition deserves Sabahans’ trust for another term.

The term of the current state assembly expires on Nov 11, and elections must be held within 60 days after the expiry of its term, or unless it is dissolved earlier.

PBS, headed by acting president Joachim Gunsalam, currently holds seven state seats while STAR, led by deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan, has six seats.