By Peter Sibon
KUCHING, May 27: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing has cautioned Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) that facing Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the coming 12th state election is akin to taking on the entire Putrajaya machinery.
As such, he called upon the other GPS component parties, namely Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), to stand united as a single entity in facing the PH assault.
“GPS shouldn’t take PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat)’s election readiness for granted because this time we have a different foe to battle with. We are fighting against Putrajaya!
“That’s not a small matter. We can’t afford to have enemies within our organisation or ‘cakap tak serupa bikin’. Nor should we allow backstabbing among GPS component parties during the fight in 2021,” Masing told DayakDailiy today.
The deputy chief minister also stressed that the four component parties in GPS must be supportive of each other and guard each other’s interests.
He had on many occasions warned that Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) was undermining the coalition as it had been actively strengthening itself in GPS areas.
“We must support each other with sincerity and honesty. The principle of “You touch one, you touch all” must be applicable at all times. If we do these things and with our war cry ‘Sarawak First’, I’m very confident we will win (in the 12th Sarawak election),” said Masing.
Masing was commenting on a news report about PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks that his party was now sprucing up its election machinery to face Sarawak’s 12th state election, which is due in 2021.
Anwar was quoted as saying that Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian would head the election machinery and that he would be assisted by party secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution and three vice-presidents in Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Tian Chua and Ali Biju.
“They will embark on their tasks as soon as possible, drawing up strategies, holding consultations with component parties and preparing machinery that can give an effective foundation of struggle to face the state election,” Anwar told a press conference after chairing a PKR Central Leadership Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
In the last state election in 2006, GPS predecessor, Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak won 72 out of the 82 state seats, while Democratic Action Party (DAP) won seven and PKR three. DAP and PKR are component parties of PH. — DayakDaily
