SARAWAK Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said Anwar Ibrahim did not reach out to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) for support this time around in the PKR leader’s bid to succeed Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.

“No, he did not (contact me),” was Abang Johari’s terse reply when pressed by reporters.

He had met with the 18 GPS MPs earlier today in Kuching to finalise which MP it will support in the race to become Malaysia’s ninth prime minister.

Muhyiddin Yassin resigned on Monday after finally losing his parliamentary majority, following a revolt against his leadership by a group of disgruntled Umno MPs.

GPS rebuffed Anwar in February last year when he sought its support following the resignation of Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the Pakatan Harapan government collapsed.

Abang Johari said at the time was that GPS would not side with any party partnering DAP.

The chief minister would also not be drawn into whom the coalition had picked to succeed Muhyiddin, saying it was for the King to reveal.

“We are leaving it to the King to decide. We leave this to his wisdom,” he said.

However, two days ago, GPS secretary-general Alexander Nanta Linggi said the coalition would have “no problems” if Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob became the next prime minister.

Santubong MP and former minister of entrepreneur development and co-operatives Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar today was also reported to have said GPS will support Ismail Sabri.

The four parties in GPS are Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the lynchpin of the coalition, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).

Meanwhile, the state opposition, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), which has only one MP, has thrown conditional support behind Parti Warisan Sabah president Mohd Shafie Apdal as the next prime minister, “if Anwar is not chosen”.

“The rationale for doing so is that it will be the first time in the history of Malaysia that an East Malaysian can become the leader of this nation,” PSB president Wong Soon Koh said.

“This is an opportunity not to be missed. If an East Malaysian becomes the prime minister of Malaysia, it will fulfil the dreams of Sarawak and Sabah to restore their eroded rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963,” he added.

PSB’s sole MP is Baru Bian, who won the Selangau seat on a PKR ticket in the 2018. He was expelled from the party for failing to endorse Anwar for prime minister after Dr Mahathir resigned. – August 18, 2021.