KUCHING, Oct 2: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), which has been lying relatively quiet since its inception in 2013, reckons it can make a difference in the next state election, which is due by 2021.
Its president, Yu Chin Liik, said his party would definitely send candidates to contest in the next state polls since it was time for a third force to rise.
He claimed that Sarawakians were generally disappointed with the performance of Pakatan Harapan (PH) after the May 9 general election, and they were also unhappy with the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) as the component parties are basically remnants of the Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Before the general election, we worked with Sarawak PH as we shared their vision of fighting against corruption and abuse of power. After the election, we had achieved our goal.
“To move forward, we will not work with Sarawak PH anymore, because it seems to be unable to grant Sarawak its autonomy and status. Instead, we will continue to monitor PH to ensure that it realises its election manifesto,” Yu told DayakDaily.
He revealed that PBK was now working with other local parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals who shared the same vision and mission with his party.
“To get ready for the next election, we are prepared to work with other political parties, organisations and professionals. We need to reach a consensus with them to strengthen our party,” said Yu.
He claimed PBK had been invited to join Sarawak Baru, a yet-to-be-registered local pact comprising State Reform Party (STAR), Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) and Sarawak Workers Party (SWP).
“On the whole, we do agree with them (Sarawak Baru) in many areas. However, we are still looking into greater details. We are still in the midst of talking and discussing with them,” said Yu.
Yu stressed that PBK’s ultimate aim was to fight for Sarawak’s autonomy and the return of Sarawak’s status as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
He was very confident that PBK would do well in the next state election in view of the present political scenario.
PBK was approved by the Registrar of Societies on Aug 28, 2013, and received its official Letter of Approval on Sept 2 of the same year.
Since its inception, PBK’s first official candidate was its vice-president Wong Chin King, who contested in Sarikei in the last general election. He went up against Dato Sri Huang Tiong Sii of the BN and Wong Ling Biu of PH, but lost his deposit after garnering only 392 votes. — DayakDaily
