By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 25: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) is willing to work with local opposition parties to take on Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) on a one-to-one bases in the coming 13th Sarawak Election, but will not accept poaching, betrayal or backstabbing, said its president Voon Lee Shan.
Voon said PBK remained open to opposition cooperation, provided it was based on trust, transparency and respect for agreements rather than attempts to weaken rival parties from within.
“PBK is willing to work with local opposition parties that genuinely share the goal of challenging GPS and protecting Sarawak’s interests,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Sept 24).
He said presidents of five political parties had held repeated discussions after the 12th Sarawak Election to find common ground on a strategy for the next polls.
“We agreed that the opposition parties should not poach, accept or encourage members, particularly leaders, from other opposition parties to cross over. The purpose was to stabilise cooperation among opposition parties against GPS,” he said.
PBK also proposed that opposition candidates adopt a common campaign colour while retaining their respective party identities, he said.
Voon said PBK supported the principle of fielding a single opposition candidate in constituencies where agreement could be reached, arguing that multi-cornered contests risked splitting opposition votes.
He said a similar one-to-one approach had been discussed among opposition parties during the 15th General Election.
“PBK kept its word and until today, PBK had not encouraged members or leaders of other non-GPS parties to join the party,” he said.
However, he pointed out that the proposed cooperation nevertheless failed to materialise after breaches occurred before a comprehensive agreement could be reached.
Voon pointed to Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), which eventually returned to GPS before being dissolved, with its members joining Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), a GPS component party.
With calls now emerging for opposition parties to unite against GPS, Voon said PBK continued to support cooperation but warned that any alliance would be fragile if parties undermined one another.
“Political cooperation is not merely a seat negotiation. It is a moral and political commitment. It requires trust, discipline and respect for agreements made among leaders,” he said.
Voon also alleged that people were being approached to leave PBK and join other parties, which he described as “opportunism” rather than genuine coalition-building.
He said PBK’s conditions for cooperation were straightforward: no poaching of members or leaders; no betrayal of seat agreements; respect for party identity and mandate; transparent negotiations; one opposition candidate where possible; and a common position on Sarawak’s revenue, resources, autonomy and the interests of its people.
“If these principles are not respected, then any so-called opposition coalition will collapse long before it reaches the ballot box,” he said.
Voon said PBK would not join an arrangement that was used to weaken the party.
“We need unity of purpose, not unity in name only. We need loyalty to Sarawak, not loyalty to short-term political gain. We need cooperation based on principle, not convenience,” he said.
Voon said the opposition’s ability to face GPS one-to-one would ultimately depend on whether its parties could honour their commitments to one another.
“If the opposition is serious about facing GPS one-on-one, then it must first show that it can keep its word,” he said. — DayakDaily
