PARTI Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras), one of the smaller local political parties in the state, is seeking to join Barisan Nasional (BN), the national coalition that no longer operates in Sarawak.
Sarawak BN was disbanded shortly after the 2018 general elections when BN lost Putrajaya, leading the Sarawak coalition parties to form Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
Teras now wishes to become the Sarawak component of BN, according to party president Banyi Beriak.
Speaking at a gathering of some 1,000 grassroots Teras members in Sibu town, central Sarawak, Banyi said Teras aims to rejactivate itself in the state by forging links with the national BN.
"We have been dormant for the past few years, but we want to reactivate ourselves as we plan to contest in the upcoming Sarawak state elections.
"We are rebranding Teras.
"We consider ourselves BN-friendly.
"We have applied to join BN and hope the BN national leadership will consider our application," he said.
Banyi also mentioned that Teras has recruited local politician Affendi Jeman into its fold. Affendi, a Sarawakian, was previously the main figure attempting to establish Sarawak Umno.
However, the plan to establish Sarawak Umno never officially took off. Although some locals set up Sarawak Umno offices in Kuching and Miri, their activities did not progress far after national Umno leaders announced they would not establish official branches in Sarawak.
The then-chief minister, Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud (now deceased), had forbidden Umno from setting foot in Sarawak.
Banyi claimed that Teras had about 50,000 members across Sarawak during their active years before the 2018 general elections.
"We need to update our membership list and then go on a recruitment drive.
"We hope to strengthen ourselves from now until the next Sarawak state elections so that we will be strong enough to enter the state polls," he said.
The next Sarawak state polls are due in the latter half of 2026. However, political activities relating to the state polls have recently picked up pace.
Last month, the women’s wing of Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu instructed its machinery at branch level to update the voters list in every branch.
Last week, Sarawak PKR activated its Sarawak State Elections Committee and appointed people to key positions in various sub-committees to prepare for the state polls.
Sarawak has 82 state assembly seats. GPS controls 79 seats, DAP two (Chong Chieng Jen in Padungan and Violet Yong in Pending), and Independent one seat (See Chee How in Batu Lintang). – August 18, 2024.
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