KUCHING, August 5: Sarawak Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) has until the second week of September this year to get its ducks in a row to set itself up properly in the state.
Its protem chairman Johan Mohamad said at the moment the party is in the midst of consolidating all of its groups to combine into one movement, and to gather the already set up divisions which was at 22. Their target is based on the number of parliamentary seats in the state, which is 31.
“We must submit the protem committee for all 31 divisions to the Supreme Council Members meeting next week, so we are short on time so we have to move quickly now,” he told a press conference at the Sarawak National Malay Association (SNMA) building at Jalan Haji Taha here this evening.
Johan said the party’s central leadership expected the Sarawak PPBM to be set up by the second week of September, and that the chairman for each of the 31 divisions would be appointed by party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Once the division chiefs have been appointed, Sarawak PPBM would then hold its first general meeting to appoint a Sarawak chairman, he added.
When asked on what the party will fight for in the context of Sarawak, Johan explained that the party would be focusing on the socio-economic wellbeing of the people of Sarawak.
This would include the welfare and standard of living of the mid to low income earners, especially those from the rural areas.
“Everybody is now fighting for the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and wants to be the hero, but who is fighting for the wellbeing of the poor people of the rural areas? MA63 is only to enrich the state government, and not these poor rural folks.
“This will be our focus after the Sarawak PPBM is set up, so that the mid to low income group will have equal opportunities in economic development and activities in the state,” said Johan.
Asked if the party would be working with other Pakatan Harapan (PH) member parties in Sarawak, Johan said they have been communicating with the Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Sarawak Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), but not yet with Sarawak Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
“We have been communicating with DAP and we received very positive response from them. We are scheduling another round of meeting with DAP next week. We have also communicated with Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian in Lawas recently,” he said.
Adding on, Johan said although Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) declared its friendliness with the PH government, it is not working together with the coalition yet.
He said unless party president Muhyiddin or chairman Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad orders them to work with GPS, it would not be doing so as both groups have different policies.
In relation to this, Johan said at the moment the party would not be focusing on the coming state election to be held in 2021. He said the party’s main focus at the moment was to set up properly in Sarawak, and to go to the ground working with the people.
“We will cross the bridge when the time comes,” he said, in response to the question if they would be contesting in the coming state election. — DayakDaily
