A SENIOR Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leader welcomed the mass entry of former opposition members from the now-dissolved Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) into the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), which is a GPS component party.
Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Hamzah, vice-president of Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), said the mass entry of former PSB members into PDP will strengthen GPS further.
PBB is the backbone of GPS and also includes the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and PDP.
Karim said GPS should welcome any move that is beneficial to the ruling state government.
“We in PBB and GPS look positively at the recent development after PSB was dissolved and its members and leaders took immediate steps to join PDP.
“They were once in the opposition and now decided to support the state ruling coalition, which will be good for GPS as a whole,” he told reporters after an event in Kuching.
Karim said he hoped the other component parties of GPS (SUPP and PRS) would also welcome these former PSB members into GPS.
“Any move that brings benefit to GPS ought to be supported by all in the party,” he said.
On February 18, nearly 500 party delegates approved the dissolution of PSB as a political party.
With PSB’s entry into PDP, the only opposition representatives left in the state are from Sarawak DAP – Chong Chien Jen (Padungan assemblyman) and Violet Yong (Pending).
The three ex-PSB assemblymen (who were once opposition members) currently in the Sarawak assembly are Wong Soon Koh, who is the assemblyman for Bawang Assan; Johnical Rayong (Engkili); and Baru Bian (Bakelalan).
PSB had three seats in the 82-seat state assembly, DAP two, an independent in Batu Lintang (See Chee How) and GPS 76. – The Vibes, March 12, 2024
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