By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, April 19: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai has openly admitted concerns within the party as the upcoming 13th Sarawak Election draws closer.
He said while PRS, as one of the smaller Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties, acknowledges the challenges ahead, confidence remains that coalition partners will stand together to defend seats and preserve a strong governing mandate.
“The smaller and not-so-well-endowed component of GPS, such as us in PRS, are worried all the time seeing danger looming on the horizon as the State General Election becomes closer.
“However, we do comfort ourselves with the hope that our partners in the GPS would stay together behind us, ensuring each other’s DUN seats are safeguarded together, in order to achieve total domination by GPS in the State Legislature,” he said when speaking at the GPS Convention 2026 held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.
John Sikie, however, stressed that Sarawak’s strength lies in unity and political stability under GPS, which he said has been crucial in earning the State respect and attention from the Federal Government.
“One of Sarawak’s greatest strengths today is our unity and political stability through Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
“We believe that it is the strength of GPS in the State Legislature and in the unity of the GPS government that has earned Sarawak the respect and attention from the federal government,” he said.
He cautioned that this strength must be protected, warning that even a loss of seats by any GPS component could weaken the coalition’s overall standing.
“But the dominance of GPS in the State Legislature and the strong GPS government are not invulnerable. An opposition causing a GPS component losing a seat would weaken GPS by that much. This we should never allow because it weakens our stance in dealing with the federal government,” he said. — DayakDaily
