Roland Engan
MIRI (April 7): Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak will put collaboration with other political parties on the back burner for now to enable elections in the party to be held first, said PKR Baram branch in a statement.
The branch, however, welcomed the move made by Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak to look into collaboration with like-minded parties to take on Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the 31 parliamentary seats in the state, saying it is a good beginning for a strong cooperation between non-GPS, non-Barisan Nasional (BN) and non-Perikatan Nasional (PN) parties in Sarawak.
“As for Keadilan (PKR) Sarawak, there is no immediate move to collaborate with other parties until after party elections in June 2022,” the statement said.
The branch, presently chaired by lawyer Roland Engan, was responding to the latest political development in Sarawak, following DAP’s state committee meeting on Tuesday in Sibu to discuss the possibility of working with other opposition parties in Sarawak for the 15th general election (GE15).
Roland, a former member of PKR state leadership council, is seeking re-election as Baram branch chairman for the 2022-2025 term and tipped to be the PKR candidate for Baram in GE15.
DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen was quoted in a news report last Sunday as saying that the results of last December’s state election showed that the major opposition parties must band together to take on the ruling GPS in the national polls.
DAP entered the election as the largest opposition party in the state with seven seats but was returned in only two seats out of the 26 seats contested and overtaken by newcomer Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) which won four seats.
PKR Sarawak lost all the three seats it won in the 2016 state election.
Chong, who was re-elected Padungan assemblyman, said in a statement that collaboration for a cohesive opposition front is the way forward.
He said this in view that PSB won only four seats out of the 70 seats it contested and DAP won only two seats out of the 26 contested, and most candidates fielded by other local opposition parties lost their election deposits.
In strategising for GE15, Chong stressed that it is critical that the importance of a national party with a national platform must not be overlooked by the state opposition front in addressing the regionalism sentiment and local party issue.
He said DAP Sarawak has autonomy over matters in Sarawak, but with the advantage of a national platform and the backing of an established national party.
Talk on collaboration among opposition parties has picked up after PSB president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh disclosed on March 27 that his party would be liaising with other opposition parties in Sarawak and Sabah to formalise a Borneo Alliance which could be a credible and significant force in federal politics.
He added the synergistic partnership would be a leap forward for the Borneo states.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3uYTiyW
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