KUCHING, May 13: Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) will not be joining Pakatan Harapan (PH) but will maintain a working relationship or collaboration with it.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said Sarawak BN has no intention to be a strong opposition against the PH federal government, because the state government prioritizes Sarawak’s interests.
“We will have a collaboration with the federal government like what I’ve said in my statement before. There must be a certain collaboration because certain areas are under federal while some are under state.
“We do not intend to be a strong opposition as my first priority is to uphold Sarawak’s interest like its economic transformation,” he told reporters after attending a dinner at a hotel here earlier.
Abang Johari also denied making any offer to join PH, reiterating his statement on the matter on May 10.
In the statement, he had said that the state government would continue to pursue the state’s rights under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) while closely monitoring PH’s promises as contained in its manifesto in the next five years, particularly those concerning Sarawak.
Meanwhile, when asked if any ongoing infrastructure development projects would be affected by taking this stance, Abang Johari replied ‘no’ because most of them were funded by the state.
“All the plans (development projects) are based on the state funds. Those that are funded by the federal I leave it to the federal government. Let’s be fair. Federal projects are subject to federal decisions so I can’t answer that.
“As far as state projects are concerned, they will proceed as planned because they use our own funds,” he said. — DayakDaily
