Joseph Kurup's Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) looks increasingly like a party with generals and no soldiers, after three of the party's elected assemblypersons left to rejoin Joseph Pairin Kitingan's Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

In a land where political allegiances are known to change by the minute, the three  Louis Rampas (Kiulu), Johnny Goh (Inaman) and Karim Adam (Kundasang)  abandoned both Kurup, a state minister, and Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who holds no government post, in what some quarters have described as the return of the prodigal sons.

Kurup and Jeffrey have staked a right to be PBRS president after last year's disputed party elections. The question now is whether both will still carry on relentlessly with significantly-depleted membership ranks.

In their return to the fold, the three took with them supporters in various constituencies as well. There has been a quiet celebration in the PBS camp following the defections  which is unlikely to be the last.

Earlier, State Assembly Deputy Speaker James Vitalis announced his resignation from PBRS and rejoined PBS which is now seeing its ranks of elected members swelling.

Edward Linggu (Tamparuli) and Atong Mangabis (Matunggong) are expected also to leave PBRS and rejoin PBS within the next few days.

If and when this happens, PBRS, formed as an offshoot of PBS after the most recent state election, will be a party left only with two assemblypersons  Kurup, who is a nominated assemblyman (he lost in the last state elections) and Jeffrey Kitingan, the maverick politician and younger brother of PBS president and former chief minister Joseph.

Political observers believe that it is a matter of time before the younger Kitingan swallows his pride and returns to PBS which, it seems, has surprisingly shown a great deal of tolerance in allowing him to venture in and out of the party for years.

Why would PBS want to take Jeffrey back again? Blood is thicker than water, came one reply.

Merger plans

According to well-informed sources, Jeffrey has to a certain extent indirectly succeeded in preventing a merger between PBRS and Upko, another Kadazandusun-based party, led by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and a former Sabah chief minister Bernard Dompok.

Without the assemblyperson, it is doubtful Bernard will see any merit in a merger with the now considerably weakened PBRS.

Should Jeffrey decide to abandon his attempt to be president and return to PBS, PBRS will be left with only with one assemblyperson, hardly an attractive prospect for Bernard to consider.

Kurup will find himself alone and without much support. After his failure to get elected, he was made a nominated assemblyperson by Barisan Nasional to accommodate a sufficient number of Kadazandusun representatives in the state cabinet.

A veteran Sabah journalist told malaysiakini that Jeffrey had acknowledged that the PBRS assemblyperson had rejoined PBS because of their insecurities. They would support neither Kurup or Jeffrey.

Besides, with the state election due in two to three years time and with PBS now back in the BN fold, they must have figured that their chances of being re-nominated as candidates would be better by returning to PBS.

The veteran journalist noted that it was not Joseph Kitingan but PBS deputy president Dr Maximus Ongkili who appeared to be playing a prominent role and was also seen in public together with the former PBRS leaders when welcoming them back to PBS. Maximus also happens to be Josephs nephew.

Joseph does not seem to harbour any intention of holding any government post anymore and is already grooming Maximus to take over from him eventually as party president. They have stuck together through thick and thin, he added.

Besides, Maximus, younger brother of Dr James Ongkili, a former federal minister, is well accepted in circles both within the state and federal BN.

And according to most observers, he is likely to be offered a post in government at either state or federal level in time to come. He is both a member of Parliament and a state assemblyperson.

BNs blessings

Since its return to BN after being in the opposition for nearly a decade, PBS members have been appointed to local councils. They also attend government briefings on development projects and make suggestions and recommendations for projects to be implemented, especially in rural Sabah.

Joseph Pairin and Chief Minister Chong Kah Kiat are old political buddies and work closely together within BN now.

The return of the PBRS assemblypersons to PBS is understood to have received the blessings of top BN leaders.

Normally, BN component parties are not, as a rule and tradition, encouraged to pinch members from one another as this could have a destabilising effect on the coalition.

However, PBRS case is considered a unique situation because with the exception of Joseph Kurup all its assemblypersons were elected on the PBS ticket.

Given the possibility that PBRS might also see a continuous exodus of its members, the party may eventually die a natural death.

With moves underway for a merger of Kadazandusun-based parties as a further political consolidation and strengthening of the Kadazandusun community, political observers see this as a distinct possibility.

TONY THIEN is a malaysiakini correspondent based in Kuching, Sarawak.