KUCHING, April 3: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) is confident it can wrest the Mas Gading parliamentary seat away from Democratic Action Party (DAP) in the 15th General Election (GE15).
PBK president Voon Lee Shan said their on-the-ground assessment inferred that Malaya-based political parties such as DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) are no longer as popular.
“Given the response on the ground in past months, PBK is confident to capture this parliamentary seat currently held by YB Mordi Bimol from DAP which he won during the last parliamentary elections.
“It is our assessment on the ground that political parties from Malaya like DAP and PKR are no more welcomed in Mas Gading and it is for this reason, PBK is confident to wrest the seat in pursuit of the party’s independence agenda,” he said.
Voon asserted Sarawakians now see a seat won by any Malaya-based party as deprivation of a seat from Sarawak, and that people are dissatisfied that Sarawak only holds 31 out of 222 seats in Parliament.
He said, according to an online survey, 97 per cent out of 3,185 respondents want independence for Sarawak and only 3 per cent of respondents wished to remain in the Federation of Malaysia.
“It is a known fact that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will not pursue independence for Sarawak.
“PBK will have no choice but to face GPS and any Malaya-based parties in Mas Gading in coming GE15,” he said when officiating at the opening of PBK Mas Gading parliamentary liaison office in Bau yesterday (April 2), according to a press statement.
Voon also urged other opposition parties not to field candidates in Mas Gading as it would result in vote-splitting.
He said PBK would return the favour if the other opposition parties agreed to this strategy. — DayakDaily
