KOTA KINABALU, May 4 — Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) secretary-general Datuk Johnny Mositun dismissed his predecessor’s recent exit in favour of leading another party ahead of the 14th general elections.

Mositun said he was not surprised by Datuk Henrynus Amin’s announcement earlier this week that he would lead the new Parti Kerjasama Rakyat Sabah (PAKAR), adding that the latter had been inactive since failing to win the PBS deputy presidency three years ago.

"He has already issued a public statement on his resignation so we’ll take it at face value and act accordingly. It is his right and prerogative to pursue his own political ideals and ambitions as he sees fit,” Mositun said in a statement.

He added that he had yet to receive an official letter from Henrynus.

Henrynus, a former MP and PBS senior member had on May 1 said he quit PBS due to the ineffectiveness of carrying out their agenda and was "trapped by its own success.”

He said that PBS has been harping on the same issues for the last 30 years but produced no tangible results as the party had been weakened by "divide and rule” tactics.

Mositun said that it was unclear what Henrynus’ party agenda would be but that it would be just another Opposition voice trying to out-do the other.

"For now, if you ask me, no one can be certain about Henrynus and PAKAR until he reveals his "5-Point” agenda as he puts it. Who knows, he could join the Opposition ranks or eventually back the BN. Anything is possible,” Mositun said.

Mositun also denied allegations from Henrynus that PBS had deviated from the original objectives of its founders to protect the Kadazandusun and Murut interests by re-joining the Barisan Nasional.

"PBS was not founded to oppose Kuala Lumpur or the Barisan Nasional. It was founded to oppose the dictatorial Berjaya regime and to stand up for the rights of all Sabahans as equals under the Malaysian sun. That was and still is the main agenda of PBS.

"He knows our stand on Sabah rights, he knows our stand on religious freedom, he knows our stand on autonomy, he knows our stand on revenues and natural resources, he knows our stand on citizenship and illegal immigrants. Which of these matters has PBS has abandoned or deviated from?” he questioned.

Henrynus who is leading the grassroot non-governmental organisation Momogun National Congress, had been a member of PBS since 1986 and was MP for Kinabalu (now renamed Ranau) in 1995. He was also PBS secretary-general from 2009 to 2013.

He lost his post when running for the deputy president post in the last PBS party elections to Datuk Maximus Ongkili and has since kept a low profile in the party.

In a statement last Monday, Henrynus said he had won uncontested the president’s post of PAKAR, after his name was proposed by its founder president, Zainal Nasiruddin, who relinquished his post to become the deputy president.

He acknowledged the already crowded political scene in Sabah but said that voters have yet to make up their mind about who to vote.

"There are issues not articulated well by political parties from both sides of the political divide. So I am entering the political fray to reorganize issues and a new grassroots political movement to change the dynamics of Opposition political strategy,” he said.

Henrynus implied his readiness to engage other Opposition groups to achieve the desired election results and was leaving his options open for now.