Its president, Maximus Ongkili, said he did not believe the PSS was a genuine attempt by Putrajaya to resolve the migrant woes facing Sabah and, therefore, his party would support the BN candidate even though PBS was no longer a partner in the coalition.

“None of the estimated 600,000 people the home ministry plans to distribute the PSS to are eligible.

“We want to know who they are. Where have they come from? Who are their children?

“We need to screen them and then identify them and decide whether we should let them stay or leave.

“Not like this … assuming all of them are eligible for the PSS.

“In other words, what the government is doing is only making them legitimate inhabitants of Sabah and Malaysia,” he said after closing a party divisional meeting in Kampung Langsat here.

Also present were Alamin and other PBS leaders.

Ongkili said Sabah would be lost forever if the three-year renewable documentation card was allowed.

Therefore, voters in Kimanis needed to deny Warisan a victory to show they were unhappy with the PSS, he added.

The party sees the 41% non-Muslim Bumiputera voters in Kimanis as the deciders in the Jan 18 by-election.

Muslims comprise 52% of the voters in Kimanis, while non-Muslims make up 41%, Chinese 6% and others 1%.

Ongkili also said the Kimanis by-election was an opportunity to show the PH and Warisan governments that they had failed to deliver on their promises and had jeopardised the security of Sabah by allowing the “domination” by migrants.

He also took a swipe at Upko leader Wilfred Madius Tangau who he said should champion the indigenous groups in Sabah but instead was supporting the PSS.

“He is selling off our rights,” he claimed.

PBS had previously indicated its intention to contest in the by-election but pulled out to make way for BN.

Ongkili said PBS had around 3,000 active members in Kimanis.