By Lian Cheng and Marlynda Meraw
KUCHING, April 10: Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar has yet to receive official notification with regards to the dissolution of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and its three sitting assemblymen subsequently joining Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
Mohamad Asfia revealed this when asked by DayakDaily whether there would be enough seats on the ruling party bench following PSB giving up its opposition status and merging with PDP, and thus, part of Sarawak’s ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“I have not yet received anything official. What I know is what I have read from the press, that’s all,” said Mohamad Asfia when met at the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house hosted by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.
On April 6, during a unity dinner held in Sibu, PSB officially announced its dissolution which had been approved by Registrar of Societies before claiming that more than 80,000 of its members have been accepted en bloc into PDP.
This included three of its assemblymen, namely Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh (Bawang Assan), Baru Bian (Ba’kelalan) and Johnichal Rayong Ngipa (Engkilili), with Wong appointed as PDP’s senior vice president, and Baru and Rayong as vice presidents.
PSB was formerly known as United People’s Party (UPP), a splinter party of Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP).
UPP began as a friendly party to the then ruling coalition Sarawak Barisan National.
It was rebranded as PSB in 2018. Before the 2021 Sarawak Election, PSB changed its political stance to an opposition party in Sarawak.
During the 2021 Sarawak Election, PSB contested in 70 seats against Sarawak Barisan Nasional which by then had been rebranded as GPS. Instead of gaining more seats, PSB’s seats were reduced to four, namely Bawang Assan, Ba’kelalan, Engkilili and Batu Lintang.
PSB suffered another blow after Batu Lintang assemblymen See Chee How left the party to be an independent.
On July 13, 2023, PSB announced its support for Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Abang Johari.
Despite shifting its political stance, PSB’s assemblymen namely Wong, Baru and Rayong maintained their same seating position in the last DUN sitting which was held in November 2023.
The question of where they will be seated in DUN has sparked another round of speculation as the three assemblymen are now officially part of PDP, a component of the ruling GPS.
Counting these three assemblymen, PDP now has eight assemblymen instead of five while GPS’ seats has increased from 76 to 79. The other three component parties which make up GPS are Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) which has 47 seats, Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) with 13, and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) with 11.
On the opposition front, Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) has two seats while the last remaining seat is held by independent assemblyman See. — DayakDaily
