KUCHING, April 4: Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) will hold a meeting in Sibu on Tuesday (April 5) to discuss the possibility of working with other Opposition parties in the State for the 15th General Election (GE15).
Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen said from the results of the 2021 Sarawak Election, it was obvious that there is a need for the major Opposition parties to work together to take on Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition.
He explained that regionalism was strong in the last State election but the results also showed that purely fighting based on regional politics will not get a party anywhere.
“In the last Sarawak Election, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) contested 70 seats but won four while DAP contested 26 seats and won two.
“The candidates of all other so-called local opposition parties lost with most of them losing their election deposits,” he said in a statement today.
Chong who is also the Padungan assemblyman further said that even GPS with its strength which saw it winning 76 out of 82 State constituencies, it still has to join force with national parties in order to have an impact and footprint in national politics, what more to say the other local parties in Sarawak.
“The drawback of the GPS’s choice of alliance is that it chooses to form the coalition with the parties that advocate racism and religious bigotry such as United Malays National Organisation (Umno), Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
“Therefore, in strategising for the general election, while we address the regionalism sentiment and local party issue, the importance of a national party with a national platform must not be overlooked.
“With all the committee members of DAP Sarawak being Sarawakians and having autonomy over matters in Sarawak, DAP Sarawak is as local as any local party, but with the advantage of having a national platform and the backing of a whole solid national party.
“It is only through this national platform that we can change and shape national policies and the future of our country,” he added. — DayakDaily
