KUCHING, May 11: The Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) supreme council will convene on Wednesday to decide on its political stand following Pakatan Harapan (PH) taking over Putrajaya.
According to a source in the Chief Minister’s Office, a recent news report that state Barisan Nasional (BN) was believed to be mulling over joining PH was mere speculation as any decision will only be made during the supreme council meeting.
The news portal had quoted Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing that Sarawak TYT Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud had met with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as well as former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.
Masing was quoted saying that the meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur but he refused to reveal the details.
He was further quoted saying that “if we must move, whether we decide to stay in BN or join Pakatan, we must do it together.”
“We cannot move alone. We cannot afford to become fragmented. We must move together to continue to protect our state,” Masing was quoted saying.
When contacted, Masing said he was misquoted on the part regarding the meeting between Taib and Dr Mahathir.
“I told him (news portal reporter) about the meeting but I did not say when and what was the meeting about.
“The meeting happened before the general election and not after. And at the meeting, Dr Mahathir was explaining to Taib the reasons why Najib must be removed.
“It was nothing about state BN joining PH as the general election was not even held yet,” said Masing.
Meanwhile, he owned up to the second part of the news that state BN must make decisions as a coalition and not as individual parties.
“Yes, I believe that as a state coalition, we must move as an entity. We cannot be afford to be fragmented,” he reiterated.
There are four component parties within state BN — PBB, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
PBB won 13 out of its allocated 14 seats; PRS contested in 6 and lost three; SUPP contested in seven but lost six while PDP took on four and lost two.
The state BN coalition now holds 19 out of the total 31 parliamentary seats. — DayakDaily
