by David E.
KOTA KINABALU, Sept 25, 2026 – PBS Acting President Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Joachim Gunsalam has reminded all candidates in the party leadership elections to put unity first. He said positions in PBS are not gifts, but a trust and responsibility.
“What must win is Parti Bersatu Sabah,” he said at the Malam Bersatu (Unity Night) event held in conjunction with the 41st PBS Annual Delegates Conference 2026 here.
He said the presence of delegates from the West Coast, Interior, North and East Coast proved that the spirit of PBS’s struggle remained strong at the grassroots. He congratulated all divisions that successfully held their annual general meetings and produced many new leaders, including from the younger generation.
To the winning candidates, he said victory was not merely an honour but a trust to work on strengthening the party and staying close to the grassroots. To those who did not succeed, he asked them not to regard the struggle as over.
“Contest as friends. Differ in views as brothers. When a decision is made, we sit together again and move together as one team,” he said.
He stressed that unity did not mean everyone must hold the same views. Unity meant that after a decision was made, all moved as one team. PBS, he said, had gone through 41 years of successes and challenges and still stood because members never stopped believing.
The party’s current struggle theme, he said, was Unity – United in Leading; Stability – Stable in Building; and Integrity – Serving with Integrity.
“Do not let internal contests divide us. Do not let positions become bigger than the struggle,” he said.
He also stressed that PBS must appreciate its old leaders, guide new ones and give opportunities to the younger generation. The party’s true strength, he said, was not in any one individual but in the unity of the entire PBS family.
“We will not discard history. We will build on history,” he said, while urging all parties to remain one family, one party and one struggle.
