PENAMPANG: Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has emphasised the importance of placing the needs of the people above the agendas of political parties.
He addressed the recent collaboration between Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), aimed at uniting their leaders.
"They had been in the PBS in the 1980s, they wore the same kind of outfits, what happened then?" he told the media after a walkabout at the Buhavan Square here.
After a decade in the government, PBS was overturned in 1994 and saw many of the leaders and members leaving and forming their own parties.
Following the split, in 1994, the late Tan Sri Joseph Kurup formed Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) while Tan Sri Bernard Dompok founded Parti Demokratik Sabah which is now known as United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko).
Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, who is the younger brother of PBS founder Tan Sri Joseph Pairin, also established Star in 2016.
In 2018,PBS, Upko and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) had also formed a presidential council to strengthen unity ahead of the general and state elections.
Mohd Shafie said that PBS-Star should not just fight for the party but look into issues concerning the people.
"Let's unite for our rights, it is more important to eradicate poverty and how we can create job opportunities," he said.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had announced that hardcore poverty households in Sabah had dropped from 25,000 to about 11,000 within a year.
However, Mohd Shafie said that despite the drop, there is a need for leaders and authorities to go to the ground to see the situation.
"If you go to the ground there, there are many people who are very poor.
"You don't have to go to the remote areas like Nabawan, Keningau, Pensiangan, just go to the villages in Penampang.
"Have you seen the shelters for poor people? There are three to four families (in a house). You can see their clothes and shoes, very poor…"
