KUCHING, Sept 4 — Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) should be aiming to strengthen the ‘Borneo Block’ by inviting Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) to be part of its coalition, said PBM president Datuk Larry Sng.

The Julau MP pointed out that PBM was also a ‘Borneo-based party’.

Sng was reacting to public query about his party still insisting on fielding candidates in the next Sabah state election, and also on whether PBM would apply to join the Sabah’s ruling coalition, GRS.

"If GRS intends to strengthen the ‘Borneo Block’, they should invite PBM to join them,” Sng told The Borneo Post yesterday.

However, Sng also stressed that GRS, particularly its component Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), should not fear PBM.

"GRS should not worry about PBM if it is strong.”

Sng, on June 29 this year, had been quoted as saying that PBM was eyeing Kazadandusun and Murut seats in Penampang, Kota Marudu, Ranau, Kota Belud, Tuaran, Putatan and Pensiangan, after the party opened its office in Penampang.

In response, Datuk Masiung Banah, a vice president of a GRS component, Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat), had on July 8, said that PBM’s intention to contest in the Sabah polls could affect the understanding forged between ruling Sabah and Sarawak parties.

The Kuamut assemblyman claimed that PBM’s aim was more to damage the relationship and understanding between the two states working together under the ‘Borneo Block’.

Adding on, Masiung said PBM would never be a threat to the GRS-led Sabah state government.

"Political parties in Sabah and Sarawak, from both the government and the opposition, have an understanding that they will not field candidates in each other’s state,” he stressed.

GRS chairman Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor had also been quoted as saying that the coalition was open to cooperation.

However, SAPP president Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee has, on September 1, reacted to Hajiji’s remarks by pointing out that SAPP was firm on its stand that only local parties should contest in the next Sabah state election.

Apart from Gagasan Rakyat and SAPP, GRS’ other components are Part Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS). — The Borneo Post