Joseph Allen
SARIKEI: Leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak component parties must take responsibility for the coalition’s defeat in the 14th general election (GE14).
In this regard, former Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) supreme council member Joseph Allen views such loss as ‘not an ordinary defeat, but a catastrophe that ended BN’s decades of governing Malaysia’.
“All the wrong decisions made by the top leaders of component parties contributed to BN’s downfall.
“As such, those concerned must take responsibility by stepping down and letting the new echelon of leaders to chart out the new direction, in tandem with the change that follows the outcome of GE14,” he stressed.
In last week’s polls, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) lost one out of 14 parliamentary seats contested, PRS lost three out of six, Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) lost two out of four, and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) lost six out of seven.
In this respect, Joseph pointed out that except for the seats contested by SUPP, the total six that PBB, PRS and PDP lost were known as BN strongholds.
“Now that Pakatan Harapan (PH) is in control of Putrajaya, the next state election would be a different game – one that may spring many surprises,” he said.
Joseph also pointed out the news reports about former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak stepping down as national BN chairman and Umno president, as well as Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai announcing that he would not seek re-election for the presidency of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) – another national BN component party – during its election scheduled at the end of this year.