A POLITICAL collaboration between Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) has wiped out what little opposition there is to the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), observers said.

PDP, whose president is Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing, is a component of four-party GPS while PSB was formerly a pro-GPS party that was forced out in 2019 over allegations it had undermined the coalition by pinching component parties’ members.

On Thursday, Tiong and PSB president Wong Soon Koh signed the collaboration in Kuala Lumpur with an eye for the two parties to merge later down the road.

University of Tasmania’s professor of Asian Studies James Chin said people could argue that after the 2021 state elections, there was very little opposition and they could not do much.

Of the six seats won by the opposition in the Covid-delayed state polls, two were by DAP and four by PSB.

Chin said with PSB now throwing its support behind Premier Abang Johari Openg, GPS and the federal unity government, “there is basically no opposition” in the Sarawak legislative assembly.

“What can the two DAP assemblymen do?” he asked referring to Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen, who is the Padungan assemblyman, and Violet Yong (Pending).

“They really cannot do anything.”

Another major ramification that came out of the collaboration is the formation of a new political bloc within GPS.

Prior to yesterday, PDP had only five seats in the state assembly, way behind its partners Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), which has 47, Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (13) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (11).

Chin said with PSB’s four, Tiong will now have a significant voice in the state assembly.

He also said what is clear from the collaboration is that Wong has ensured that he will still play “a more important role” as an unofficial member of GPS.

In his reaction, Chong said he is not surprised “that PSB has now applied to rejoin GPS”.

He said he had sounded about it loudly a number of times but did not expect it to come so soon – after only one state election as an opposition party.

“My prediction about PSB has come true. Right from the beginning, I have cautioned about the agenda of PSB as the opposition in the 2021 state elections,” he said.

“Now that PSB has applied to rejoin GPS, it is clear to Sarawak people that PSB is just an offshoot of GPS and will ultimately return to the fold of GPS.”

Chong said DAP will stay steadfast as the opposition in the state assembly “to provide the necessary checks and balances to safeguard the interests of the people in Sarawak and to continue voicing out against the extravagance and wrongdoings of the GPS government”.

Making GPS stronger

PBB vice-president Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said he too was not surprised by the latest political development in Sarawak.

“I have been hearing rumours. I knew something has been going on behind the scenes,” he told reporters after attending a charity premiere in Kuching on Thursday night.

He said it should also not be a surprise to the GPS leaders.

“I’m very, very sure that before they sign the memorandum of understanding, there must have been some consultation (with GPS leaders). That is how we work,” he said.

The GPS leadership council will be meeting tonight at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching to discuss the latest political development. It will be chaired by Abang Johari.

Karim, who is also state tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister, said anything that unites Sarawak people is good.

This view is also shared by Universiti Malaya’s political analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi.

He said the collaboration will strengthen the two political parties as they prime themselves for the state elections in two years’ time.

“If this collaboration lives up to expectation, then GPS will only get stronger and the opposition, weaker,” he added. – July 15, 2023.