KUCHING, March 31: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Simanggang Youth asserts that no one in their right mind in the party or the ruling coalition of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will consider placing Sri Aman MP Datuk Masir Kujat as a candidate for the constituency in the upcoming 15th General Election (GE15) after the latter abandoned their ship in 2019.
PRS Simanggang Youth chief Audie Samuel said even if Masir were to defend the Sri Aman seat, “no one will trust him again”.
In a statement today, Audie claimed that Masir had left the people of Sri Aman high and dry ever since the latter left PRS and joined Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) for “reasons best known to himself”.
“We the people of Sri Aman voted for him for three terms since 2008 and he had won handsomely. But he ‘frogged’ away in March 2019 without even consulting us who voted for him as our MP.
“Fortunately we have a GPS state assemblyman in Simanggang to look after us and likewise in Balai Ringin and Bukit Begunan since March 2019 when Masir left PRS/GPS and since then he never brought about any projects nor taken care of the rakyat’s welfare in Sri Aman, not even food baskets during the MCO (Movement Control Order).
“Worse, he fought against our PRS/GPS candidate in Balai Ringin in the last Sarawak Election,” said Audie.
Masir was a PRS member from 2008 to 2019. In March 2019, he left PRS and joined PSB where he was also a presidential council member.
During the 2021 Sarawak Election, Masir contested as PSB’s Balai Ringin candidate. However, he lost to incumbent Datuk Snowdan Lawan.
Audie said if Masir thought he could to rejoin PRS to assume a leadership position and to be the candidate for GE15, then the latter should “go fly kite”.
He said when Masir was still in PRS during the time of former PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing, Masing had recommended Masir as deputy minister and for a Datukship. Masir however, still left to join another party.
To Audie, Masir may have forgotten all these and what he had done to the voters of Sri Aman, but these voters, found it hard to forget.
Audie was responding to a news article quoting Dr Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal, a political analyst.
Ammar Reza had predicted that there was a high possibility that Masir may rejoin PRS. The former deemed that the party provided more opportunities for Masir to be chosen as a candidate for Sri Aman for GE15 as well as to assume a leadership position in the party.
To Audie, Dr Ammar Redza is entitled to his opinion but it was a far-fetched one.
“PRS is a political party that has her own sets of rules and regulations. We have been abiding by our party constitution and living up to its principles since this party was formed.
“Therefore, to think that Masir can simply rejoin PRS with the hope to be picked as a candidate for the coming GE15, it is overly presumptuous,” said Audie. — DayakDaily
