United Sabah Party


The United Sabah Party is a political party in Sabah, Malaysia. It was registered as a political party on 5 March 1985. The founding president was Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who broke away from the ruling Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah because of his differences with party president Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Harris Salleh, the Chief Minister in whose cabinet Pairin served before the break.

Ideology and support base

Although it is mainly seen as an ethnically-based Kadazan-Dusun political party, PBS calls itself a "Malaysian multi-racial political party" in which members are mostly of Kadazan-Dusun and Murut ethnic descent though the second and third largest ethnic membership are mostly Muslim Bumiputeras, mostly ethnic local Sabahan based ethnic Malay race, and also from the Bajau community of peoples, which is the second-largest ethnic Bumiputra in the state including the Iranun subgroup and some Suluk together with the Chinese and its declared political mission is to strive to safeguard Sabah's autonomy and states rights, promote democratic principles, economic advancement, human rights, and justice.

History

PBS formed the state government after winning the 1985 state elections and governed Sabah from 1985 to 1994. Following the 1986 Sabah riots, PBS joined the Barisan Nasional coalition after winning the May 1986 state election. However, on the eve of the July 1990 state election, PBS pulled out of the coalition and won the state election for a third time. It also won the 1994 state elections by a narrow margin. However, numerous defections occurred as many PBS representatives switched allegiance to the then opposition BN coalition before PBS were even able to form a new state government. PBS subsequently rejoined the BN coalition in 2002, ending any form of opposition as BN fully occupied the state legislature and returning Sabah to the rule of the BN coalition that holds the federal parliament. Following the fall of BN in the 2018 general election, PBS left the coalition and formed a new Sabah-based coalition of United Alliance.

Elected representatives

Dewan Negara (Senate)

Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)

Members of Parliament of the 14th Malaysian Parliament

PBS has currently only 1 MP in the House of Representatives.

Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly)

Malaysian State Assembly Representatives

Election results