THE chief minister has for the first time hinted that the four-party state ruling coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), could eventually merge into a single party.

Abang Johari Openg, when asked at a special media conference in conjunction with his third anniversary in office if the other three parties – Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) – are all on the same wavelength with his party, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) in their move forward, said they are and “eventually we will be under one”.

He emphasised the word “eventually” a second time, saying it would not be so soon.

The new party, if it becomes a reality, would retain the Gabungan Parti Sarawak name, he said.

“We may take time.”

Abang Johari also adopted a cautious note, saying he doesn’t know if the four parties would even merge to form a single party the end of the day.

“I don’t know. I can’t predict.”

The merger idea, nonetheless, is not new.

In 2018, Deputy Chief Minister and president of PRS James Masing floated the idea following the coalition’s, then known as the Sarawak Barisan Nasional, exit from BN following its defeat in the general election.

Masing in a memo to Abang Johari prior to GPS’ first presidential council meeting on June 18, 2018 suggested the four parties shed BN’s battered image, disband and then reform as single multiracial party.

The memo was dated June 11, 2018.

Masing stated there should be a “metamorphosis” of the former Sarawak BN parties as the 2018 elections showed that a communal-based party no longer appealed to Malaysian voters.

He said, therefore, there is a need for PBB, SUPP, PDP and PRS to review their current “political structure in order to stay relevant” before the state elections in 2021.

PRS, the second largest party in GPS, SUPP and PDP are all multiracial parties while PBB, the linchpin of the coalition, does not accept non-Dayak, Malay or Melanau members.

Also in the memo, Masing stated “it would be big mistake if we do not evolve and move forward, especially in ways and manners which we administer Sarawak” even though the results of the general election and 2016 state election showed the “majority of Sarawakians are still with us”.

“PRU14 (GE14) is a wake-up call for Sarawak BN to re-look and really evolve and improve in meaningful ways.

“If not, we will be accused as changing the name of the soup without changing the herbs,” he said.

Masing, unlike Abang Johari, had hoped the merger to take place before the 2021 state elections.

He told The Malaysian Insight then that some PBB leaders, particularly from the Bumiputera wing of the party, had sounded caution that a merger of such magnitude shouldn’t be done in a hurry.

“I said we don’t have the luxury of time. Do it we must,” Masing had told The Malaysian Insight then.

He reinforced the argument for a merger before 2021 by pointing to the BN set-up, which GPS adopted, and the role of Umno.

“BN lost not because Malaysians didn’t like BN as a coalition concept.

“Malaysians rejected BN because Umno was dominating the coalition. Umno had become too dominating, arrogant and refused to listen to smaller parties in the coalition.

“Their 60 years in power made them blind to the problems of others and deaf to the cries of smaller groups in the coalition.

“If GPS is not properly structured, what happened to the BN during the 14th general election could be repeated come the next state elections in 2021.” – January 13, 2020.