Pairin Sidesteps Question On Retirement

KOTA KINABALU, March 5 (Bernama) -- Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan on Friday sidestepped questions about retirement, saying he will continue to lead the party.

"The struggle will continue ... as long as I am able to continue to work together with the others. I will do so even after retirement," he told reporters after launching the Silver Jubilee celebration of the party in Luyang, near here.

Asked whether he had already set the time-frame for retirement, he said: "No, as far as I can see".

Pairin, 70, is the founder and president of PBS, which was established in 1985, and had held the post of Sabah chief minister from April 1985 to March 1994.

Asked whether the party's decision to rejoin the Barisan Nasional (BN) was a good move, he said the federal government had shown its commitment and sincerity towards developing the state, particularly in tackling the issue of security as a result of the influx of illegal immigrants.

"Our struggle all this while is to see serious action to solve the problem of illegal immigrants and it is very clear that the federal government is going all-out to address this perennial problem.

"The government will also set up a special lab (under the National Key Result Areas) to get feedback on how to resolve this problem once and for all, and we, in PBS, support whatever effort that is good for the people of Sabah," he said.

PBS was readmitted as a component of the ruling BN coalition in January 2002. Then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the PBS, which left the BN in 1990, was readmitted without any condition.

Pairin said PBS had set its target on doubling the party's membership by encouraging each existing member to recruit at least one new member this year, a move to strengthen the party and the BN.

Earlier, in his speech, Pairin said that PBS would continue to uphold the struggle of the BN under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, especially in bringing development and progress to Sabah.