MIRI – Parti Aspirasi Sarawak and concerned Sarawakians are urging Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to make an immediate U-turn on its decision to form a coalition government with PAS and Bersatu.
Aspirasi president Lina Soo, in a statement, demanded that GPS chairman Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg change the coalition’s stance and side with Pakatan Harapan (PH) instead.
This comes amid talk that GPS and Abang Johari may have been misled into making a hasty decision in supporting Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for prime minister.
Soo said Sarawakians are very worried about the decision taken by GPS and Abang Johari.
“Sarawakians abhor the thought of Sarawak parties linking up to form a federal government with Malaya parties known to have bias against race and religion in their policies and public propaganda.
“The wrong decision by GPS in this pivotal period will pull Sarawak into a tailspin of unending racial and religious controversies.
“GPS and Abang Johari should make an immediate decision now to side with the moderate-minded Pakatan Harapan to form the next government.”
Sources in GPS are hinting that Abang Johari and top GPS leaders may have been misled into hastily throwing their support behind PN and Muhyiddin.
“It looks like the meeting among Abang Johari, Muhyiddin and (Tan Sri Abdul) Hadi Awang was a hastily arranged one (yesterday morning).
“Abang Johari then flew back from KL to Kuching and announced the GPS decision without further deliberation,” said one source.
Sarawak PH leaders had since late Saturday urged GPS not to help elevate “extreme” Malaya parties to power in Putrajaya.
Today, netizens blasted GPS for announcing its support for PN.
GPS will be making a mistake of disastrous proportions if they help PN form the federal government as PAS and Bersatu capitalised on extreme propaganda in GE15, said Sarawak PH information chief Abun Sui.
Sui told The Vibes that Abang Johari must not give in to pressure from the PN leaders.
“Working with parties that have extreme agendas and racial and religion-based policies and putting such parties into power in the national administration will be a mistake GPS will regret.
“GPS is in a position to work with moderates in Pakatan Harapan. Join forces with PH to form the federal government together with Sabah partners who are also moderates.”
Yesterday, Johari announced that GPS was joining hands with PN, Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah to form the federal government with Muhyiddin as prime minister.
Shortly later, BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi denied ever having an agreement with GPS or PN on the matter.
Sarawakians took to social media to express dismay with the decision taken by GPS and Johari.
GPS won 22 parliamentary seats out of 31 in Sarawak, with votes still being counted in the Baram constituency.
As it stands now, PH and its partners have won 82 seats, followed by PN’s 73, BN’s 30, GPS’, GRS’ six, Warisan’s three, Parti Bangsa Malaysia’s one, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat’s one. Two seats were won by independents.
Meanwhile, the election for the Padang Serai seat will be held on December 7 following the sudden death of PH’s candidate and incumbent MP M. Karupaiya on November 16, three days before polling day.
Coalition leaders have until 2pm tomorrow to inform the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of their prime minister candidate and which parties are to form the federal government. – The Vibes, November 21, 2022
