The United Sabah People's Party (Malay: Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah; abbreviated: PBRS) is a minority political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. Presently PBRS is being led by its President Arthur Joseph Kurup. The party was previously led by its founding and first president; Joseph Kurup from 1994 to 2023. PBRS is officially a component party of Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition since 1994 except for a brief period from 2018 to 2020.
United Sabah People's Party | |
|---|---|
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| Malay name | Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah ڤرتي برساتو رعيت سابه |
| Chinese name | 沙巴人民团结党 Shābā rénmín tuánjié dǎng |
| Abbreviation | PBRS |
| President | Arthur Joseph Kurup |
| Secretary-General | Richard Kastum |
| Spokesperson | Rayner Francis Udong |
| Women Leader | Zainon Hj Kayum |
| Youth Leader | Edwin Laimin |
| Founder | Joseph Kurup |
| Founded | 3 March 1994[1] |
| Legalised | 11 March 1994 |
| Split from | United Sabah Party (PBS) |
| Headquarters | Blok B, Lot 19, Tingkat Dua, Lorong Singgah Mata 2, Asia City, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah |
| Youth wing | Youth Section |
| Women's wing | Women Section |
| Ideology | Nationalism |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| National affiliation | Barisan Nasional (1994–2018), (since 2020) United Alliance (2018–2020) |
| Colours | Yellow, green, light blue |
| Dewan Negara: | 0 / 70 |
| Dewan Rakyat: | 1 / 26 (Sabah and Labuan seats) |
| Sabah State Legislative Assembly: | 0 / 79 |
| Website | |
| Facebook PBRS | |
History
editPBRS was formed by its founding president, Joseph Kurup who had led some disaffected members of the United Sabah Party (PBS) on 11 March 1994. On 10 June 1994, it was officially accepted as one of the component parties in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.[2]
In the aftermath of the fall of BN coalition in the 2018 Malaysian general election (GE14), the party's president Joseph Kurup said they decided to quit BN but it was only confirmed after an announcement was made to the public after getting the green light from its Supreme Council on 12 May 2018.[3][4][5] PBRS applied to join the new ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition so as to ensure its promises can be fulfilled. As such application was later ignored, in addition to the statement of Sabah PH chief Christina Liew Chin Jin that PBRS has a 'very slim chance' to be a part of PH, PBRS decided to remain with Sabah BN-UMNO to form a new coalition with other Sabah-based parties, the United Alliance of Sabah or Gabungan Bersatu Sabah (GBS).[6][7][8]
In the wake of the collapse of the PH federal government in the 2020 Malaysian political crisis, PBRS had attended again after a 2-year lapse the BN coalition's Supreme Council meeting along with other component parties of Peninsular Malaysia; UMNO, MCA and MIC on 12 May 2020, which had decided to declare their support for the new prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin and his new Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance federal government.[9] PBRS deputy president who is the party's sole MP, Arthur Joseph Kurup was also appointed as the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Economic Affairs in the BN supported and aligned Muhyiddin's PN new ruling administration since March 2020.[10] BN secretary-general Annuar Musa announced that as the coalition Supreme Council which was attended by the PBRS president, Joseph Kurup himself, has implicate that PBRS is still remains or has rather returns as a BN coalition component.[11] On 9 January 2021, PBRS Deputy President, Arthur Joseph Kurup signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set-up Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) which contested the 2020 Sabah state election earlier and managed to win to form the Sabah state government.[12][13] On 7 January 2023, Joseph Kurup stepped down as the 1st PBRS president and became the Honorary Chairman of PBRS after helming the party from its formation in 1994 to 2023 for 29 years, party deputy president and his son Arthur Joseph Kurup took over as the 2nd party president.[14]
Elected representatives
editDewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)
editMembers of Parliament of the 15th Malaysian Parliament
editPBRS currently has only one member in the House of Representatives.
| State | No. | Parliament Constituency | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sabah |
P182 | Pensiangan | Arthur Joseph Kurup | PBRS | ||
| Total | Sabah (1) | |||||
Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly)
editMalaysian State Assembly Representatives
editSabah State Legislative Assembly
General election results
edit| Election | Total seats won | Seats contested | Total votes | Voting Percentage | Outcome of election | Election leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 0 / 192
|
1 |  ; No representation in Parliament (Barisan Nasional)
|
Joseph Kurup | ||
| 1999 | 0 / 193
|
1 | ; No representation in Parliament (Barisan Nasional)
|
Joseph Kurup | ||
| 2004 | 1 / 219
|
1 | 5,880 | 0.08% |  1 seat; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)
|
Joseph Kurup |
| 2008 | 1 / 222
|
1 | 0 | 0,00% | ; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)
|
Joseph Kurup |
| 2013 | 1 / 222
|
1 | 9,467 | 0.09% | ; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)
|
Joseph Kurup |
| 2018 | 1 / 222
|
1 | 11,783 | 0.10% | ; Opposition coalition, later Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) |
Arthur Joseph Kurup |
| 2022 | 1 / 222
|
2 (Pensiangan-Barisan Nasional; Ranau-PBRS) |
23,877 | 0.15% | ; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)
|
Arthur Joseph Kurup |
State election results
edit| State election | State Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|---|
| Sabah State Legislative Assembly | Total won / Total contested | |
| 2/3 majority | 2 / 3
|
2 / 3
|
| 1999 | 0 / 48
|
0 / 2
|
| 2004 | 1 / 60
|
1 / 1
|
| 2008 | 1 / 60
|
1 / 1
|
| 2013 | 1 / 60
|
1 / 1
|
| 2018 | 1 / 60
|
1 / 1
|
| 2020 | 0 / 73
|
0 / 4
|
References
edit- ^ "Kronologi Penubuhan PBRS". Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ James Chin. "The Sabah State Election of 1994: End of Kadazan Unity - Vol. 34, No. 10 (Oct., 1994), pp. 904-915". University of California Press. JSTOR 2644969.
- ^ Durie Rainer Fong (12 May 2018). "Now, PBRS leaves Sabah BN". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- ^ "PBRS is third party to leave Sabah BN". Malaysiakini. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "PBRS wants to work with Warisan". The Borneo Post. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "PBRS will remain with BN for now, says Kurup". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ Stephanie Leeh (3 October 2018). "PBRS goes back to Sabah Barisan after being rejected by Pakatan". The Star. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ Kristy Inus (12 May 2018). "Sabah BN coalition to be disbanded to pave way for Gabungan Bersatu". New Straits Times. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "BN declares undivided support for Muhyiddin but wants time for PN proposal". Malaysiakini. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Six Sabah MPs included in new Federal Cabinet line-up". The Borneo Post. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "BN declares undivided support for Muhyiddin but wants time for PN proposal" (in Malay). Harian Metro. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ "Malaysian PM Muhyiddin forms Gabungan Rakyat Sabah alliance to take on Sabah polls". The Straits Times. 12 September 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "GRS Signs MOU To Continue Cooperation Reject Outside Interference". The Borneo Post. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ "Joseph Kurup steps down as PBRS president, his son Arthur takes over". The Star. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
