Kota Kinabalu: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Acting President Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam urged the party’s leaders to prioritise unity above personal ambition, pointing out that internal power struggles during PBS’ current leadership transition could become a breaking point for the 41-year-old multiracial party.
“We are not as strong as before. So to make it strong, we must be united first,” he said at the closing ceremony of the PBS Annual General Meeting for the Api-Api and Luyang divisions held at the Hakka Hall, here, Sunday.
“If we fight with each other over who is going to be at the top, it is possible and this will become one of the breaking points for the PBS,” he said.
Dr Joachim described the party as entering what he called a third-tier leadership transition, noting that the PBS only had two presidents across four decades.
“The transition period demands discipline and collective restraint from emerging leaders,” he said, adding that the party’s survival depended on its ability to hold together during the changeover.
He named several leaders he considered capable of steering the party forward, including Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, State Women, Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk Julita Majungki, State Industry, Entrepreneurship and Transport Assistant Minister Datuk Jonnybone Kurum, PBS Youth Chief Datuk Dr Christopher Mandut and Datuk Lo Su Fui, who he described as the youngest elected representative in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition.
He anchored his address around three pillars which he said defined the PBS since its founding, namely, unity, stability and integrity.
“The unity concept is embedded in the party’s name and goes far deeper than just a slogan.
“It is part of our identity as a multiracial party that welcomes every community to participate in shaping Sabah’s future,” he said.
On stability, he cited what he described as a cautionary chapter in Sabah’s history when the Chief Minister post was rotated every two years on instruction from theFederal level, a period during which the State’s financial reserves fell sharply and the government came close to being unable to pay civil servants.
“This history reflects why political stability remain essential for economic growth and investor confidence,” he said.
On integrity, he said he did not expect all leaders to be sharp orators, but held that honesty, accountability and trustworthiness are non-negotiable.
“Leadership is all about service and not self-interest. We have to uphold transparency and responsibility in everything we do,” he said.
He also acknowledged that Sabah’s rights agenda under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 framework, long championed by the PBS, had gained wider traction since the State Government under the GRS aligned itself with those demands.
While welcoming that development, he said the work was far from complete and the party’s founding struggle remained unfinished.
