By Lian Cheng and Peter Sibon
KUCHING, Nov 19: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leaders are delighted that the Registrar of Societies (ROS) has approved the local alliance’s application. They said they now have an official vehicle to fight for the state’s rights.
Describing it as “good news”, Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting said following ROS’ nod, the local pact now has a rightful vehicle to champion matters pertaining to Sarawak’s rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“The four component parties within GPS can now move forward as a united front, to fight for the interest of Sarawak and Sarawakians.
“This is a very good thing and very important to us as we can now focus fully on what we should be doing, especially in our journey forward as an equal partner in the formation of Malaysia,” Ting told DayakDaily today.
He said SUPP would give its full support to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to lead GPS to a better Sarawak.
The announcement on the formation of GPS was made on June 12 this year, and the application to getting it registered was submitted to ROS the following month. Its four component parties are Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), SUPP, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
PBB vice-president Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, when contacted, said GPS could now go to the ground to tell the people that GPS is a new entity and is different from Barisan Nasional (BN).
“It will be different from BN because GPS is a Sarawak-based party that will fight for the rights of all races, such as the Dayaks, the Chinese, the Malays and all ethnic groups,” he said.
Abdul Karim, who is also Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, opined that with the registration of GPS, it would give the ruling coalition more confidence in facing any election, be it a by-election or the state election, which is due in 2021.
Meanwhile, PDP deputy president Datuk Nelson Balang Rining hoped all Sarawakians would support GPS as it is the only Sarawak-based party that could fight for their rights and to ensure that the state would become a developed state in the coming years.
“We hope the people will support GPS because it is the party that can look after the interests of the people of Sarawak within Malaysia,” said the former Ba’kelalan assemblyman.
PRS secretary-general Dato Janang Bungsu said the approval by ROS would broaden the base for GPS to fight and struggle for Sarawak under the MA63.
And to the fierce critics of GPS in the cyber world, Janang said, “Give GPS a chance. Comparatively, under GPS, Sarawak Budget 2019 has more than doubled the allocation compared to what the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government has for Sarawak,” said Janang. — DayakDaily
