No need for PBS to spread to Sarawak – Rayong
KUCHING: United People’s Party ( UPP) Youth chief Dr Johnical Rayong Ngipa does not see the need for the Parti Bersatu Sabah ( PBS) to spread its wings to Sarawak.
According to the Engkilili assemblyman, only Sarawakbased parties know what Sarawakians want.
“Sarawak- based parties like PBB, UPP, SUPP, Teras, SPDP and PRS operating here in the state under the Barisan Nasional ( BN) banner are here for Sarawakians.
“Why do we need other parties from outside of Sarawak?” he added.
Hence he hoped PBS would rethink before spreading their wings here to Sarawak.
“If non Sarawak- based BN parties are welcomed to spread their wings to the state, then Umno would have already set up their base here many years ago,” Rayong noted.
Apart from that Rayong also agreed with the comments of the Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem that the presence of outside parties would add more confusion.
“People will be confused as to how a Sabah-based party can fight for the people in Sarawak?
“We hope that Sarawakians will not get confused regarding the matter,” he told reporters yesterday at his residence at Jalan Batu Kawa here.
Rayong who is also UPP vice president was commenting on PBS being given green light by the Registrar of Societies ( RoS) to spread its wings to Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
The approval of its application to spread its wings to Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at PBS’ annual delegates conference in Kota Kinabalu last Saturday.
Ahmad Zahid, who officiated the delegates conference, also presented PRS president Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan with the certificate and approval letter dated Nov 3, from RoS to the resounding applause of all those present.
Pairin, in his opening speech, expressed optimism that by opening more branches nationwide, it could spread moderation and multiracialism ideology to tackle extremism.
He also gave his assurance that with more than 200,000 Sabahans working in the peninsula, the party could strengthen its membership especially among the younger generation.
PBS was registered as a political party on March 5, 1985 with Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan as founding president.
Although it is mainly seen as a Kadazan- Dusun ethnicallybased political party, PBS calls itself a “Malaysian multi-racial political party”.