Significance of 12th Congress

As President of the party and on behalf of the Supreme Council, I therefore warmly welcome all delegates to this Congress. Your presence here today is both significant and historic. This is because I sense with overwhelming conviction that this may be our last annual Congress before the State election is held. It is therefore part of our aim that this Congress will assist in finalising our election machinery and achieve a state of mental preparedness for all of us to ensure a solid victory for PBS in the next election whenever it is held. Further, this Congress will be the bridge towards the next millenium and therefore opens multiple opportunities before us in terms of the scope and challenges of our political struggle for the people of Sabah.

I congratulate all leaders of the 46 divisions who have been able to send delegates to this Congress. We fully realise that your attendance at this event has been possible because of your special efforts and sacrifice. Each and everyone of us is painfully aware that this is the fourth Congress since we were undemocratically forced out of government and made an opposition party. During this difficult period there are of course a lot of trials and hindrances, not least of which is financial constrain. Nevertheless, the fact that about 500 divisional delegates are here, excluding observers, shows that all of you have been resilient and victorious over all the challenges that are facing us. Congratulations on your fighting spirit and ability to overcome the challenges. This is indeed a fulfillment of our 1994 election motto "TABAH UNTUK SABAH".

Party Elections

 This Congress is also significant in that party elections will be held for posts in the Supreme Council and Executive Committee (EXCO) of the Youth and Women’s Movements. Party elections are of course part and parcel of our organisation’s democratic practice and administrative requirement which we conduct once in every three years. As I have constantly stressed election time for party posts should always be regarded as an opportunity to strengthen party unity and not otherwise. Always remember that in politics, to lead is to serve. And while we practice democracy and allow contests for posts in our party elections, such contests must always be in the context of a family and friendly atmosphere.

The aim of any party member contesting for a particular post should be to offer himself or herself for service, and not merely to displace another leader for the challenger’s own personal interests. Contesting candidates must always put the party’s interest above personal interests, adhere to party rules and procedures, and refrain from creating divisiveness and disunity among members of the party. As party President, I have always advocated for a compromise among contesting candidates, where possible, to avoid heated contests for certain posts in order to promote and strengthen party unity.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the Supreme Council as well as members of the Youth and Women’s EXCO who have faithfully served the party for the last three years. You are the men and women who stood with me during the last three and a half years, especially during the difficult and bitter period of 1994.

We will always remember that immediately after March 1994, the Supreme Council was almost deserted, except for about a dozen people who stood firm and provided much needed support to me in order to keep the PBS flag flying. Shortly after that, we reorganised the Supreme Council and many of you bravely offered yourselves for service.

The members of the present Supreme Council are those who enlisted themselves for service and assisted in the re-structuring of the party in 1994. I would like to pay tribute to your loyalty and thank you for the hard work and commitment you rendered to the party and to me as President. I believe it would be fair for me to say that if it were not for all of you, we may not be here holding this 12^th PBS Congress. I sincerely believe that most of you have worked hard and fulfilled the expectations of your respective duties and responsibilities.

Of course, like in any organisation there is still room for improvement in performance for all of us in order to further uplift the party’s overall services and struggle for the people of Sabah. I look forward to your continued loyalty, support and contributions as we all work together as a team to prepare the party to face the forthcoming election which could be held any time after this Congress.

 The PBS Struggle in Retrospect

This Congress marks PBS’ 12th year of service as a political party to the people of Sabah. During an important event such as this, it is both meaningful and proper to take some time to reflect on the history of our struggle so that we can appreciate the lessons of the past, including the trials and achievements, and chart our future journey with greater wisdom.

Our PARTI BERSATU SABAH was registered as a political party on 5 March 1985 amidst an uncertain and turbulent political environment. About six months earlier I was forced out of the ruling Berjaya party for my uncompromising stand against certain party policies that had diverted away from its original struggle. These policies and actions included the decision of the government to give away Labuan to the Federal government for free, non-action on the influx of illegal immigrants, and increasingly authoritarian style of government practised by Berjaya.

The historic Tambunan by-election of 1984 and the subsequent abrogation of its district status after the ruling Berjaya party lost the seat is still fresh in the minds of many of us. The triumphant victory of course ignited a fire of political bravery that inspired a new movement of Malaysians in Sabah to push for political change and challenge the abuse of political power, stifling of democratic rights, and disrespect for human dignity committed by the authoritarian Berjaya government. It was these events that led countless peace-loving Sabahans to urge and convince me to initiate the formation of a new political party. The people were looking for change and searching for leaders who dared to make a stand against the injustices and undemocratic actions committed by the ruling party.

It was against this background that I offered and committed myself to lead a democratic struggle for the people of Sabah. This provided an avenue for the people to express their wishes and desires to redeem Sabah through a new political organisation that offered itself as an alternative government. It was here that the inspiration to form Parti Bersatu Sabah or PBS was conceived. I stress again that the initial inspiration came from the people. It was the people of Sabah who formed PBS.

 Let us be reminded that PBS’ political struggle is motivated by the vision to create a progressive, harmonious, united and prosperous Sabah through genuine practice of parliamentary democracy, dignified political conduct, balanced development and professional administration. As a multi-racial political party, PBS strives to safeguard and promote democratic principles, economic advancement, human rights, justice, dignity of man and Sabah’s rights in the Malaysian Federation.

I wish to stress here that PBS has never wavered from its original struggle. Indeed as the party advances in age and maturity, we are more conscious than ever before of the importance and urgency of our political mission and the need to commit ourselves fully to achieving the noble goals of the party. We are fully convinced that the only way for Sabah to move forward both in government and development is by ensuring that the noble political goals espoused by PBS in its constitution are fulfilled and made the basic foundations upon which the state is governed and administered.

Past Election Victories and Bitter Experiences

We should also take the opportunity at this historic Congress to remind ourselves that ever since its formation, PBS has not lost any state election. We have faced our opponents in four previous elections and we came out victorious in all of them. We won 26 of the 48 State Assembly seats in 1985. Eleven months later in 1986 we won 34 of the 48 seats. Again in 1990 we convincingly won 36 of the 48 Assembly seats. And once again in 1994, despite political manipulations and widespread use of phantom voters, we won the State election for the fourth time in a row with 25 seats as against 23 for the Barisan Nasional (BN). This is a record that no one can deny. No other political party in Sabah has ever achieved such a track record of achievements.

In spite of all these achievements we must always remind ourselves that the past was coloured with many problems, hindrances and unfair actions by our opponents. Our achievements did not come easy. Indeed numerous undemocratic events and political manipulations are still fresh in our minds. These included the Istana power grab of 1985 followed by subsequent demonstrations, arsons, bombing threats, induced party hopping, and other political manipulations and threats in later years. These were certainly bitter experiences for all of us and the people of Sabah to the extent that many wondered if democracy was really at work in our parliamentary system of government.

 Of course, our most bitter experience as well as that of the people of Sabahans a whole was being forced out of government after winning the 1994 state election. The fourth-term PBS government lasted only about two weeks before the mandate given by the people was stolen through undemocratic maneuverings of the Barisan Nasional. The resignation of the government was caused by defections of a majority of PBS Assemblymen to Barisan Nasional parties. Some of the former PBS Assemblymen also formed their own political parties and later joined the BN.

The manner in which the PBS government was forced out of power and made an opposition party is certainly unprecedented in our beloved country of Malaysia. As leaders and members of PBS we must all rise and take up the challenge to reverse this dark spot in Sabah’s history by ensuring that the party is returned as the rightful government of Sabah in the next election.

Barisan Nasional – The Short-lived Relationship

In the context of past relations between PBS and the Barisan Nasional, there are also plenty of experiences to reminiscent. For a start there was great reluctance on the part of the Barisan Nasional to accept PBS into its fold in the first instance although we were sincere in offering our hands of friendship and partnership in governing Sabah. As President, I of course hoped for the best relationship because of the general belief that cordial and sincere relations between the State and the central government would be an asset for fulfilling the people’s aspirations for economic change and progress.

As a step towards building a meaningful relationship, we attempted to tune in to the Barisan Nasional’s style of administration and ways of doing things. We made serious efforts to find common grounds and concerns upon which to co-operate and work together in the interest of the people. Unfortunately, it became increasingly obvious over the years that there was no real acceptance for PBS and in fact it became publicly known later that the party was considered "a thorn in the flesh". Apparently, the party was only tolerated but not really accepted.

Accordingly, many of the state’s requests were not entertained thereby eventually leading to a communication breakdown. This was then followed by actions from the central government that aimed to penalise the state through delayed release of development grants, reduced financial allocation, and termination or postponement of certain assistance. These were certainly regrettable actions by the central government especially when considered in the context of a federation form of government, where it is normal for states to differ politically with the central government and yet co-exist meaningfully for the sake of the citizens at large.

 I wish to place on record once again that the decision of PBS to leave the Barisan Nasional in 1990 was based on careful considerations that the party leaders felt were right and proper after considering the turbulent relationship between the state and the central government at that time. Let me also stress that the decision was not mine alone as President but rather the collective decision of the party’s supreme council which decided on the matter.

Further, let it be known that those PBS leaders who were so insistent and strong in their views that quitting the BN was the best course of action for the party at that time are today in the Barisan Nasional and holding senior posts in the government. Sometimes I am inclined to believe the popular view that these ungrateful former PBS leaders might have planned and set up the party for the exit from the Barisan Nasional so that they could fulfil their selfish ambition to become Chief Minister by deserting the electorate and rejoining the Barisan Nasional later.

Lessons for the Future

These are precious lessons and mistakes of the past that must not be repeated. We should become wiser in our thinking and actions from the experiences of the past. We pray that there would never be another power grab in this country. The practice of making false promises must stop. The real spirit of democracy should be allowed to prevail and elections should be clean and fair. The electoral roll should be cleaned and freed from phantom voters. The anti-hop law should be restored to protect democratic rights of the electorate so that political leap-frogging can be prevented. Law enforcement and penalties must be upgraded and properly used against those who undermine the democratic process and sabotage the rights of the people.

These are basic duties of any responsible government that wants to practise true democracy. Part of our responsibility as members of PBS is to ensure that these matters are addressed and appropriate action taken by the government in power.

 Federal-State Relationship

As far as our future relations with the Barisan Nasional is concerned, we are guided by our past stand as recorded in previous manifestos. In the 1994 PBS manifesto we said that in respect of relationship with the Federal Government, "PBS will seek for sincere and mutual understanding towards better political relationship with the Federal Government and enhanced national integration and unity". This is still our stand today. The idea of PBS applying for re-admission into the Barisan Nasional is not on our agenda.

Let me stress that the party leaders have always aimed at building a harmonious and mutually beneficial working relationship with the Federal Government. This is a logical objective of any state government or political party. Building a good relationship between two parties takes time and efforts on both sides. A union as such cannot be forced upon any side; rather it should be allowed to grow naturally, cultivated on trust, sincerity and teamwork.

 It is my opinion that a fruitful and successful federal-state relationship in the context of Sabah and the Federal government must be based on mutual willingness to work together in a spirit of respect, tolerance and genuine friendship. Such a relationship must not only allow for genuine democratic expressions but should be constitution-based, and one that respects and upholds the Malaysia Agreement.

 Regrettable past actions by Federal leaders such as questioning the basis and spirit of the Twenty Points as well as issuing provocative statements aimed at querying the need for State rights do not create a healthy political climate that is conducive for bonding the Malaysian nation. Until matters such as these are addressed and the political and administrative mess in the BN State government are resolved, the thought of applying for membership in the Barisan Nasional is indeed far from our mind.

 Sabah at the Crossroads

 As I said earlier, this is the fourth congress since PBS was forced out of government and made an opposition party by the Barisan Nasional. Since then a lot of things have taken place in Sabah under the administration of the present state government. But let me categorically say that most of the things that the BN government has done are actions that the majority of the people of Sabah would not agree or support. Many things have happened on the economic, political, social and administrative fronts that are not good for the long-term benefits of the state. Sabah is indeed at the crossroads. Let me briefly highlight some of the pertinent problems the State is facing and why as a party we need to rectify and rescue the situation.

 State Economy

The state of the Sabah economy is certainly far from what the Barisan Nasional promised that it would be in 100 days after becoming government. The initial favourable growth in 1994 and 1995 was the result of the sound policies, management and economic foundation laid by the PBS government, particularly the investments in tourism development, downstream processing of timber produce, aggressive expansion in industrial crops especially oil palm, and intensive provision of basic rural infrastructure.

 Today the State economy is on a serious downturn caused by unstable investment policies and recent change in microeconomic fundamentals. The situation has been aggravated by non-stop reshuffle of cabinet ministers, rotation of the Chief Minister’s post, high cost of imports, increasing inflation, and questionable forest policies including the senseless lifting of log exports that has caused the closure of many timber processing mills.

 The size of the Sabah economy is now hardly growing, and may even stop growing completely as a result of the depreciation of the Ringgit. The situation has been worsened by the huge presence of  peninsula-based contractors which tend to import even the very basic inputs and items such as nails, maggie mee, plastics and simple tools rather than purchasing them locally. This has the effect of preventing the circulation of money within the state, negating what economists’ describe as the ‘multiplier effects’, and therefore preventing real growth of the economy.

 In addition, financial leakage in the form of expatriation of capital through over overseas remittances by foreign workers and peninsula-based companies has gone unabated and increasing annually. In short, the Sabah economy is in bad state and certainly nothing of the sort that the Barisan Nasional described in its infamous 100-day promise. As I have personally said during the election campaign in 1994, any economy in the world that is undergoing a structuring change cannot be fixed or revitalised in 100 days. Such a promise is nothing more than a political gimmick by irresponsible politicians.

 State Administration

 It is now basic public opinion that the state BN government has caused a mess in the State administrative system. Established administrative systems and procedures have been bulldozed by unprecedented actions such as the rotation of the Chief Minister’s post, curtailing the powers of the Chief Minister, on-going reshuffle among cabinet ministers, and perennial habit of "just talk but no action", especially in the context of forest and land policies.

Continuing reshuffle, unjustified transfers and displacement of civil servants have contributed to an unstable administrative system. Regular confrontation between the political executive and government staff (including court action) as well as open public scolding by government politicians have led to a demoralised civil service. These developments are a far cry from the cohesive and professional civil service that existed during the PBS government. The end result is the failure of government services to reach the people especially those in the rural sector, thereby causing a lower standard of living for the State as a whole relative to the early 1990s period.

Privatisation and divestment of State Corporations

As all members of the Sabah public are fully aware, it has become constant practice for the present government to engage in massive disposal of State assets. Unjustified selling of public corporations without tender and transparency has been part of the Sabah BN style of government. Profitable corporations such as Sabah Bank, Sabah Development Bank, Hyatt Kinabalu International Hotel, Progressive Insurance, Desa Cattle, Ladang Sabah, Tun Fuad Foundation Estate, Sinora, Pacific Hardwoods, Cement Industries Sabah (CIS), Padu Wangsa and many others have been sold or divested quietly for no acceptable reasons.

 Other enviable State assets including Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB), Sabah Industrial Products (SIP) and Sabah Port Authority are in the process of being privatised for no valid reasons aside from collecting revenue for the government. This only shows that the government has very little money because it has failed to widen the State’s revenue sources. Other services such as rubbish collection for some municipalities including Kota Kinabalu have been privatised quietly without competitive bidding. The privatisation of government vehicles which PBS has constantly objected is costing the people of Sabah about 50-60 million ringgit annually when compared to about 10 million annually during the PBS administration. These questionable privatisation exercises have proven that the present government is irresponsible and not really concerned about the real interest and welfare of the people of Sabah.

 For many of these privatisation deals Parti Bersatu Sabah has lodged reports with the relevant authorities because of our belief that certain offences have been committed by those involved in decision  making, including illegality, abuse of power and conflict of interests. We made these reports because the people’s assets cannot be simply disposed of without taking into account public interests, and wrong doings in the administration must be penalised. This is consistent with the national government’s call for administrative transparency and eradication of corrupt practices in the country. In light of this, I urge the relevant authorities to hasten investigations into our various reports and take stern action against those who have committed wrong doings

Massive Sale of Commercial Forest Reserve

In the land and forestry sector, mismanagement and questionable deals have also been discovered by the party. For the forestry sector, PBS has expressed great concern over the government’s decision and plan to award some 2.7 million hectares of commercial forest reserve to huge corporations without tender, and well before forest management policy, management plans and stock inventory have been completed for the respective concession areas. We maintain that the decision to privatise the entire commercial forest reserve of the State in the name of promoting sustainability defies logic. Further, most of the first ten companies awarded 100,000 hectares each are non-Sabahans with none or very little bumiputera participation in the shareholdings.

Let me stress that PBS regards the privatisation of the State’s entire commercial forests as a sellout of the people’s assets and heritage. We believe that the government’s action on this matter will not contribute to the sustainability of our forests because private companies will tend to extract timber only but not replant the forests unless there is mandatory supervision on the part of the government in accordance with the concession agreement. Moreover, we are aware that many of the companies awarded the huge concession areas actually do not have financial and technical capacity to undertake sustainable forest management of the type carried out by the Deramakot project.

I wish to remind all of us here today that PBS has always been committed to forest conservation and sustainability. It was the PBS government who started the Deramakot conservation programme in 1989 which today has become internationally known for its sustainability programme. Forestry innovations such as reduced impact logging (RIL) techniques and the skyline harvesting method were pioneered by the PBS government through the Deramakot project.

The present BN State government, on the other hand has hardly done anything for forest conservation. Logs stealing and illegal logging are still rampant throughout the State. No wonder the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said openly at an UMNO meeting in Sandakan last June: "It is not Peninsular leaders who are stealing Sabah logs but Sabah leaders stealing Sabah logs". This statement certainly casts a very poor image of the present State government, particularly its capability to manage the State’s forest resources.

A classic example in the forestry sector where PBS believes an abuse of power has been committed by government decision makers is the awarding to a private company of 11,000 hectares of First Class Commercial Forest Reserve on Banggi Island last year. The award was made well before the reclassification of the said forest reserve to Class II commercial forest was approved by the State Legislative Assembly. This action is illegal because it contravenes the Sabah Forest Enactment 1984 which prohibits the awarding or alienation of First Class Forest Reserve for any purpose. The Chief Minister promised the State Assembly that he would take stern action against the wrong doers and that "there would be no cover up" but until now nothing has been done. This is another typical BN style of "just talk and no action". The people of Banggi have requested the party to initial court action on the matter and our legal advisers are currently studying the case.

 Questionable Land Deals

 Aside from questionable forest deals, there is also on-going concern in the manner the State government has been granting large areas of town and agricultural land to huge corporations without tender or competitive bidding. Until now the government has not disclose the valuation of several pieces of land including 10,000 acres of prime agricultural land in Sungai Koyah used as "land swap" for the construction of the Ministry of Agriculture’s building. Nobody knows whether the deal is fairly priced or not because the valuations of the government properties involved are not known despite our request for public disclosure. Again this is typical quiet and non-transparent asset sale being conducted by the government.

More recently, the State government announced the approval of 220,000 hectares of commercial forest reserve near Sipitang to a non-Sabah company purportedly for reforestation and paper mill business. The details of the deal have not been made public thereby causing the public to question whether the deal has been fair and beneficial to Sabah in the long term. In addition, there is also an approval given to a company to reclaim 966 acres of prime beach-front land from Tanjung Lipat to Tanjung Aru for the purpose of enlarging the Kota Kinabalu town centre.

Again we ask the government, why is there a necessity to dispose of such a massive area of land to the private sector in a hurry, especially when there is no immediate justification for doing so. More importantly, the present Chief Minister is on record to have promised that all town land would no longer be simply approved to any applicant but would be given to the highest bidder through tender. This is yet another empty promise made by the government. This is because PBS is fully aware that many prime lands in Kota Kinabalu have been quietly given to applicants without competitive bidding which makes a mockery of the government’s promise to tender such land.

Foreign Labour and Illegal Immigrants

Parti Bersatu Sabah has always been very concerned about the large presence of foreign labour and illegal immigrants in Sabah. For the nine years that we were in government, we did everything within our means to work with the Federal government in resolving the problem. We voiced the matter openly in parliament and run the State’s own registration exercise. Our stand is very clear. Sabah belongs to Malaysians in Sabah. Foreigners cannot simply roam around our land without valid documents and do whatever they like. As Malaysians and citizens of this State it is our duty to work together and co-operate with the Federal government in defending and protecting the territorial sovereignty of Sabah.

We have always supported efforts to ensure proper documentation of foreign workers so that they have proper work passes. Illegal immigrants must be sent back immediately to their country of origin and not allowed to accumulate in the State until they are uncontrollable. We therefore support the regularisation exercise conducted by the government but only on the condition that the government is sincere in resolving the problem and not just another lip service as in the past.

We also wish to ensure that there are no ulterior motives behind the regularisation exercise, such as discreet registration of illegal immigrants as phantom voters by irresponsible political groups or syndicates by illegally giving them identity cards (IC). We raise this matter publicly here because such illegal actions were rampant in the past and we hear reports that they could still be happening. I urge all party members to pay special attention to this problem and to report immediately to the relevant authorities any case of illegal IC racket and registration of illegal immigrants as voters.

 "Sabah Baru" – A Tale of Broken Promises

 The slogan "Sabah Baru" (New Sabah) is no longer attractive and appealing as it was in the 1994 election campaign. Three and a half years later there is nothing new in Sabah that the people can genuinely appreciate and admire. The promises of achieving economic revitalisation in just 100 days of government and fulfilling development targets such as zero poverty, zero illiteracy rate, a house for every Sabahan, 2,000 miles of new roads, 200 miles of new rail track, modern airports for Sabah’s major towns and many others, all by the year 2,000 are now nothing more than empty promises.

The people especially in the rural sector are all hungry for the so-called "Sabah Baru" goodies but thus far what has been delivered cannot even match half of what PBS provided when it was in government. Political parties and governments who make such empty promises will be severely dealt with by the people of Sabah in the next election. We urge the people to do exactly to do that and ensure that PBS is returned as the rightful government of Sabah so that we can continue our unfinished development agenda of 1994.

 "Sabah Boleh" Campaign – A Waste of Public Fund

 In the last twelve months the BN State government has been busy launching their "Sabah Boleh" (Sabah Can) campaign. In the first instance, the supposedly motivational campaign is somewhat sinister in its meaning. Surely if Malaysia is "Boleh" (Can) then Sabah is automatically "Boleh" (Can), unless the present State leaders do not understand the meaning of federation. All that is achieved through the campaign is another series of promises by the State leaders on what they intend to do for the state, followed by a final shout of "Sabah Boleh" at the end of the stage performance.

Scarce funds meant for other purposes have been used for the "Sabah Boleh" campaigns in many districts. Such funds are used to finance campaign hats and T-shirts as well as huge billboards in towns and full-page advertisements in newspapers. These cost millions of Ringgit which are understood to have been obtained from Yayasan Sabah and meant for social and educational programmes, such as school uniforms, milk supply, books and shoes for school children. This action represents another misuse of financial resources by the government which the people of Sabah must not allow to continue.

 Electoral Roll

 PBS has continuously struggled and campaigned for a clean electoral roll so that elections can be truly democratic and fair. Our records on this matter are very clear as proven by our continuous efforts to object and voice against questionable entries in the electoral roll during annual registration and objection. The task is far from over because until today the Election Commission has not considered most of our objections and submissions. We will continue to persist in this noble task.

 57. In the latest electoral roll that has just been opened for objection, our party discovered that there are several thousands of our members who have been transferred out of their respective polling centres without them applying for the transfer. This means that irresponsible people have caused the unauthorised transfer of voters for their own political purpose. This sort of action should never be allowed to happen and the Election Commission must make sincere efforts to tighten existing laws and penalise those who are committing this serious offence. PBS will continue to monitor the situation and do the necessary within our means towards achieving the people’s demand for a clean and just electoral roll.

  Information Technology and Electronic Government

 As I said earlier we are already on the threshold of a new millenium. We are living in a borderless world where distance and geography are now not regarded as major constraints to national development. This is because we now live in the era of modern technology, not least of which is information technology. We fully subscribe to the thinking that information and information technology are the cutting edges in the competition for economic sovereignty of nations.

PBS is therefore supportive of the concept of electronic government, so long as basic priorities of social and economic development are not overlooked and that information technology really leads to quantum increase in the efficiency of government. Further, we believe that one cannot really achieve such concept as a "paperless government". "Less paper", yes we can achieve. But certainly not "paperless". This is because despite major revolutions in the world of computers in last few years, machines can never replicate the human mind. Problems associated with computer security, viruses and shortcomings of man create an imperfect world such that we cannot bank our lives on machines alone.

Having said so, I nevertheless urge all of us to move with the times and invest time and resources to acquire, process and use information and information technology for our advancement. I am glad to know that many of our party members are computer literate and surf the internet regularly, especially members of the Supreme Council. I hope more of our members will do so.

PBS Homepage

It is therefore historic and timely that as part of our programme this morning, we will be launching our PBS Homepage. Indeed as I finish addressing you this morning, the English version of my speech will be available to the world through the internet. This is an important milestone for us. It is our hope that through the PBS Homepage party members, friends and researchers in Sabah, Malaysia and throughout the world will get to know us better. In the process we will be able to interact with internet users and share our noble struggle for peace, justice, democracy, human dignity, economic development and unity for the people of Sabah, Malaysia and the world at large.

PBS Is the Choice

What I have just described is the Sabah at the crossroads. There are indeed numerous matters that deeply concern us because they adversely affect and threaten our past political and economic achievements. The situation calls for an affirmative action on our part. What needs to be done is obvious. We need to rise up and rectify the situation for the future of our children and grand children. The choice is clear. The people need to return PBS as the state government in the next election. Only then can we put back the state on the right track and ensure a united, dignified, prosperous and just Sabah for the people in line with the aspirations of Vision 2020.

Thank you and BERSATU!