PBS To Adopt Batu Sapi Winning Formula To Triumph In Next General Election

PENAMPANG, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) will adopt Barisan Nasional's (BN) "winning formula" in the recent Batu Sapi parliamentary seat by-election to secure a landslide victory in all allocated seats for the party in the coming general election.

Its president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said there were special ingredients including better rapport among all the state BN component parties that needed to be emulated to win the hearts and minds of the people.

"All the state BN components had worked hard as a united team to ensure BN's victory and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also went to the ground to lend a hand in the by-election.

"I believe we can apply this formula to win all the allocated seats for our party (PBS) including wresting the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary and Sri Tanjung (in Tawau) state seats from the DAP in the next general election."

He said this when opening the Wanita PBS and PBS Youth conferences at Hongkod Koisaan, near here, today. Muhyiddin is scheduled to open the main conference tomorrow.

BN retained the Batu Sapi seat when its candidate, Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin from PBS, polled 9,773 votes to beat Ansari Abdullah of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee by a majority of 6,359 votes.

Tsen is the widow of the previous MP, Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah of PBS, who was killed in a road accident on Oct 9.

Pairin said this victory showed the growing confidence of the people of Sabah in the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, as well as the acceptance of the 1Malaysia concept.

In this respect, he urged PBS Women and Youth delegates to double their efforts in recruiting new members and to strengthen their election machinery in anticipation of a snap election.

In the 2008 general election, PBS as one of the state BN component parties, was allocated 13 state and four parliamentary seats, but lost the Kota Kinabalu parlimentary seat and Sri Tanjung state seat to DAP.

Pairin said PBS, which was formed about 25 years ago, would continue to be vocal in fighting for the rights and interests of the people and state, including issues related to the perennial illegal immigrant problem, through the good relations between the state and federal governments.

He said all the concerns voiced out by the PBS Women and Youth wings at the delegates' conference would be taken into account for common good.

Pairin said the party understood and acknowledged the role of women in the political arena, adding that women formed almost half of the electorate in the country.

He hoped that Wanita PBS under the leadership of Datin Jamilah Sulaiman could help convince the women voters in the state to rally behind BN in the next general election.

Earlier, PBS Youth chief Datuk Jahid Jahim urged its members to work hard to help reorganise and strengthen the party's presence in the SAPP-held constituencies such as the Likas and Luyang state seats and Sepanggar and Tawau parliamentary seats.

He hoped that with its strong presence, PBS would be given the chance to field its candidates in these areas in the 13th general election.