BENGOH assemblyman Jerip Susil is still in the Sarawak cabinet despite being party-less because he will be joining a component party under the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition, Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said today.

Abang Johari would not disclose which party Susil is applying to join. 

“I’ll tell you at the right time,” when asked by reporters after opening a forum on trade and business matching between Thailand and Sarawak in Kuching today.

Susil was formerly with the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and he was among the handful of assemblymen who resigned en masse in 2013 over a leadership crisis.

He was also instrumental in forming Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) but PSB never became a member of the then Barisan Nasional coalition or GPS as their membership application was blocked by SUPP.

But even without a party since his quitting PSB in July, Susil still retains his position as transport assistant minister in the state’s new transport ministry.

The former PSB deputy president said he resigned “in the greater interest of the Bidayuh community” from which he comes from and represents. 

Political analysts, however, believed he had little choice given the dwindling support for PSB and the cut in development funds to PSB-elected representatives by the GPS government.

While the chief minister would not say which party Susil is talking to, speculation is rife that he could return to SUPP after party president Sim Kui Hian said he would welcome Susil if he decides to return. – August 23, 2019.