United Sabah People's Party

The party was formed on 11 March 1994 by founding president Joseph Kurup who had led disaffected members of the United Sabah Party (PBS). On 10 June 1994, PBRS was officially accepted as one of the component parties in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.^[2]

Following the 2018 general election that saw the collapse of the BN ruling coalition, PBRS president Joseph Kurup declared the party's intention to quit BN as a component. The decision was announced to the public after receiving approval from the party's Supreme Council on 12 May 2018.^[3][4][5] In the aftermath, PBRS applied to become a component of the new ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition under the pretext of ensuring the fulfillment of its election promises. However, the application was ignored, followed by a statement from then Sabah PH chief Christina Liew that PBRS had a 'very slim chance' to join the coalition. Faced with rejection, PBRS decided to remain with BN before forming a new coalition with other Sabah-based parties known as the United Alliance of Sabah (Gabungan Bersatu Sabah, GBS).^[6][7][8]

In the wake of the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis that resulted in the collapse of the PH federal government, PBRS attended the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting on 12 May 2020 after a 2-year lapse, deciding to rejoin the coalition whose components at the time were left with UMNO, MCA and MIC. Barisan Nasional had decided to declare support for the new Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.^[9] PBRS Deputy President and sole party MP, Arthur Joseph Kurup, was appointed as the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Economic Affairs in the BN-supported Muhyiddin cabinet.^[10] BN secretary-general Annuar Musa declared that, as the coalition Supreme Council meeting was attended by PBRS president Joseph Kurup himself, it implicates the return of PBRS as a BN component party.^[11] On 9 January 2021, Arthur Joseph Kurup signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set-up Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), a Sabah-based political alliance which contested and won the 2020 Sabah state election, forming the state government under Hajiji Noor.^[12][13] On 7 January 2023, Joseph Kurup stepped down as the 1st PBRS president and became the Honorary Chairman of PBRS after helming the party for 29 years from its formation in 1994 to 2023. Party deputy president and his son, Arthur Joseph Kurup, succeeded him as the 2nd party president.^[14]