KUCHING, March 8: Santubong MP Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar rebuts Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB)’s allegation that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) practised “double standards” with its support of Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Wan Junaidi in a statement noted that Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) broke away from GPS component Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) and it has been the tradition and practice in Sarawak that the leader or individual who formed a new party could not be part of the same coalition anymore.
“He may dissolve his party and the component of the coalition, but not “bring the seat” with him. It’s up to the coalition to allocate the seat in the subsequent election.
“There is a clear distinction between Perikatan Nasional (PN) and GPS in the federal and the state of Sarawak arrangement, and between GPS and PSB in the state governing coalition with PSB within the state government, and Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh knows about it,” he added.
In a press statement issued yesterday, PSB accused GPS of practising “double standards”, after the state-based ruling coalition agreed to the PN Plus GPS formula in the federal government. PSB argued that in the past, certain GPS leaders had insisted Wong who is the former’s president could not be in the state cabinet if PSB is not part of the state coalition, yet they were now agreeing to the PN Plus formula because they wanted to be federal ministers.
Wan Junaidi noted that GPS and the federal government are different from each other because there are many things that the federal government could facilitate for the state, such as the ongoing negotiations for Sarawak’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) between the federal and state governments.
He opined that it is to Sarawak’s advantage if the relationship between the federal and state governents was made this way, and recalled what Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg had always said, that Sarawak comes first in every consideration.
He also explained that GPS’ decision to be part of the government while not become part of the political coalition with PN would help the nation avoid the fiasco created by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“We are not in the political coalition with PN, but we are part of the federal part of government to administer the nation. So that with our presence, political stability could be maintained and the federal government continue to govern, develop the nation and its economy, and also share our wealth with all Malaysians as they deserve.
“Based on all those considerations, there is no comparison between the PN and GPS to help the nation and at the same time to help Sarawak to get what it deserves,” he added.
Wan Junaidi also pointed out that Sarawak’s ongoing negotiations for the return of its eroded rights must be boosted, including the administration arrangement at the federal level between PN and GPS.
He opined federal funding should not be impeded by political desires and project implementation should also proceed smoothly, especially for the matters of dilapidated schools, rural infrastructure, water, electricity, and other amenities.
“The 22 months under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government taught us a good lesson. The nation and its people suffered because of never-ending political intrigue in the peninsula.
“We all suffered, the nation suffered, everyone suffered because of the withdrawal and cancellation of many projects approved by the BN (Barisan Nasional) administration before 2018, the plunging economy, raising of prices of essential goods, besides share market losses which depreciated the values of billions (of ringgit) worth of shares.
“Thus the value of our sovereign funds are plummeting and all the investors in shares lost hundreds of billions,” he added. — DayakDaily
