GAGASAN Anak Sarawak, the pact comprising three small Sarawak-based opposition parties, has collapsed weeks after it was launched.

Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) president Bobby William shockingly said the arrangement collapsed just “a few days” after the parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on August 18.

He said Parti Sedar Rakyat Sarawak (Sedar) pulled out without giving any reasons for it.

The third party in the arrangement is Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) – a party fighting for return of eroded state rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“I can say that the understanding between these three political parties (has) not materialised,” William said.

The parties, which had a similar arrangement worked out in last December’s Sarawak elections, also saw that fall apart when Sedar and PBDSB clashed in the rural Bidayuh-majority seat of Opar.

At the August MOU signing, Sedar president Othman Abdillah gave a promise that “that kind of clash will not happen again”.

One of the terms of the MOU was to register the alliance with the Registrar of Societies, hence the picking of the name Gagasan Anak Sarawak.

Aspirasi president Lina Soo, when contacted, said she has no comments at the moment as she just saw the news.

Othman similarly said he has no comments to make for now.

He said he would have a statement on it “in a few days”.

PBDSB, however, has picked itself up to continue moving forward.

William said PBDSB has worked out an understanding with two other state-based parties – Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) – and it will sign an MOU on it in Sibu tomorrow.

The venue of the signing will be at the Paramount Hotel.

PSB and PBK signed their MOU on September 19.

“PBDSB had tried to stand alone since the day the party resurrected in 2013. However, in every election, we did not get an encouraging result,” William said.

In the arrangement with PSB and PBK, PBDSB will be using its own party logo.

William said PBDSB will be contesting four rural Dayak-majority seats – Baram, Sibuti, Kapit and Julau. – September 30, 2022.