WHILE Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno may no longer exist in Sabah, plans to form Gabungan Bersatu, made up of followers still loyal BN and Sabah Star, seems to have been put on hold.

This was confirmed by PBS secretary-general Johnny Mositun to Malaysia Decides, saying that Sabah BN chairman Musa Aman has left Sabah to attend to urgent matters before the next move could be established.

“Until he returns, all matters related to the creation of Gabungan will be kept in view. Well, at least until after Musa has decided,” he said.

The creation of Gabungan Sabah itself will take time, as PBS will first need to take in the remaining followers and former party members of Umno, Upko and PBRS to form PBS Plus.

After that, an agreement will be signed between PBS Plus and Sabah Star to form Gabungan Sabah.

Sabah Star chief Jeffrey Kitingan said Umno will cease to exist in Sabah after the move and it was meant to reduce the influence of Peninsular Malaysia in Sabah politics.

Mositun said PBS is all set to accept Umno members into the party, adding that even Musa’s membership has been prepared.

Musa’s camp remained adamant that he was as the legitimate Sabah chief minister after being sworn-in on May 10.

On May 14, police confirmed that Musa had left Sabah for Kuala Lumpur at 10am as rival Shafie Apdal checked in into the chief minister’s Office at the 32nd floor of the Sabah state administrative building in Likas.

Shafie also brought his assemblymen to Sri Gaya, the official residence of the chief minister later.

Musa’s press officer Afeiza Khan insists that his boss is still chief minister after Shafie was sworn-in on May 12 and has been saying that Musa will be making an announcement soon.

Mositun also said PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan is being betrayed in the same way that led to the collapse of the PBS Sabah government in 1994.

“All the KDM parties have never been so close before GE14, there have also been talks of uniting under PBS again during the Upko, PBS and PBRS convention.

“PBS had invited both PBRS and Upko to the convention and when Upko invited us to form the presidential council, we were eager.

“But look at where both Upko and PBRS are now. Upko had defected the earliest and PBRS wants to join Pakatan Harapan. The plan to form the presidential council have all gone down the drain,” he said.

Mositun said PBS is also in limbo at present as members are constantly unhappy with the party leadership.

“We are being blamed for leaving BN’s fold in 1994 and joining Semangat 46, when we are finally in BN again, people ask us to leave cause PBS was under the control of Sabah Umno.

“Now that there’s a constitutional crisis, the supporters again blamed the PBS leadership for not leaving BN like Upko did,” he said.

Towards this end, Mositun said PBS also had to declined a BN meeting the party left the coalition on May 12. – May 15, 2018.