SARAWAK Barisan Nasional, now finding itself as an opposition state government, said it will “continue to work” with 14th general election winner Pakatan Harapan.

Caretaker chief minister Abang Johari Openg, in a statement issued minutes before Dr Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as prime minister tonight, said the BN state government will work with the PH federal government “for the benefit of the rakyat in Sarawak, in particular, and Malaysia, in general”.

He said the state government’s top priority remains efforts to reclaim state rights, which have eroded over the years, as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and federal constitution.

Abang Johari said the state government will “closely monitor all the promises made in the PH manifesto over the next five years, particularly those relating to Sarawak”.

Following yesterday’s polls, the state BN has seen its representation in Parliament shrink from 25 to 19. Its campaign, particularly by coalition partner Sarawak United People’s Party, to distance itself from the corruption allegations, financial scandals, and claims of abuse of power and kleptocracy plaguing federal BN leaders had failed. – May 10, 2018.