LEADERS of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties are intensifying efforts to discourage Pakatan Harapan from running in the Sarawak elections due in 2026.
Two senior leaders of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) and Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP) have asked DAP and PKR to stay out of the polls.
PBB vice-president Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Hamzah said PH should demonstrate its commitment to the unity federal government by sitting out the state elections.
"GPS is part of the unity government in Putrajaya. PH has a working partnership with GPS in the federal government," he said.
"We acknowledge that Sarawak PH has democratic rights to contest in the Sarawak polls in 2026. Democracy is one thing, but I feel that the harmony and cooperation now in the unity government in Putrajaya should not be disrupted," said Karim, who is state minister for tourism, culture and arts.
SUPP information chief Adam Yii said Sarawak PKR and Sarawak DAP have often displayed an aggressive opposition stance against GPS in Sarawak.
"If they truly value the existing harmony in the Unity Government, which GPS is a part of, Sarawak PKR and Sarawak DAP must not fight against us (GPS) in the state elections. By continuing as opposition in Sarawak, DAP and PKR are actually planting seeds of disunity," he said in a statement.
Yii is the Miri mayor and Pujut assemblyman.
PBB and SUPP are components of GPS. The other two GPS parties are Progressive Democratic Party and Parti Rakyat Sarawak. GPS holds 79 of the 82 seats in the Sarawak assembly.
Sarawak DAP has two seats (Padungan and Pending) while an Independent holds Batu Lintang.
Sarawak PKR has announced that it will field candidates in the state elections to ensure democracy and give the people a voice.
State PKR Chairman Roland Engan although PKR has working with GPS at the federal level, Sarawak PKR remains the opposition at the state level.
"The people of Sarawak need an alternative voice. Sarawak PKR will give them that voice. In Sarawak, the need for such an alternative voice is especially crucial," he said.
On July 26, Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) president Datuk Larry Sng’s statement that PH parties should stay out of the Sarawak elections and join Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) sparked a row with PKR.
Sarawak PKR information chief Tay Wei Wei slammed Sng for trying to stir up controversy.
"We in Sarawak PKR and Sarawak PH are not political frogs. Larry Sng should focus on how to build up his own party.
"PBM only has one seat, one parliamentary seat. He should stop trying to gain publicity by mocking other parties," Tay said in a press statement.
Tay said Sng had insinuated in social media comments that Sarawak PKR and Sarawak DAP are irrelevant in Sarawak and cannot defeat GPS. He said Sng had suggested that Sarawak PH should join GPS instead.
"Sarawak PKR and Sarawak DAP have won state and parliamentary seats in Sarawak before. We will continue to play our role in Sarawak as the voice for the rakyat," Tay said. – August 5, 2024.
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