Pairin denies being Trojan Horse for Umno in Sarawak

KOTA KINABALU - Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan has shot down allegations of him acting as a Trojan Horse for Umno to enter Sarawak.

The allegations that Pairin and PBS were paving the way for Umno to enter Sarawak surfaced after the announcement of the party’s plans to spread its wings to Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.

Pairin told a press conference in his office at the State Assembly yesterday that he was accused of being a Trojan Horse for Umno to enter Sarawak and that accusation was published on a website.

The Deputy Chief Minister said this when asked to comment on Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s remark that PBS’ expansion to Sarawak could cause confusion among the people there.

“I would like to clear the air so that there are no doubts in the minds of Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters in Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. I give them the assurance that I am not anyone’s Trojan Horse and have no intention to do so.

“The Sarawak Chief Minister, current and previous are my friends. I do not want to spoil the situation in Sarawak. For Peninsular Malaysia, we have a lot of supporters there just like other Sabah-based parties which have expanded there.

“So we take into consideration the request of Sabahans in Peninsular Malaysia pertaining to welfare, to problems, to feelings of belonging.

“We will target our supporters from Sabah to be given the opportunity to participate in politics as we are members of Barisan Nasional (BN).

“During the general elections we did not see them around although they were willing to help, so if they become members of PBS (Peninsular or Sarawak branch) they will likely help in the campaigns which will be good for both BN and PBS,” he
said.

Pairin added that PBS wanted to ensure smooth communication between Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.

He claimed that there are some people who, when talking about Malaysia, only think that it is Peninsular Malaysia therefore the perception can be cleared up through what PBS can do to ensure that all of us are Malaysians.

He also said PBS has (no) intention to contest in Peninsular Malaysia or Sarawak as the notion is far from the party’s leaders’ minds.

According to him, there was once a request to set up a PBS branch in Sarawak through an individual, unlike Peninsular Malaysia, the requests were through PBS clubs established there.