Masing fielding questions from the media. (File Photo)
KUCHING: Only time will tell whether ‘Gabungan Rakyat Saksama’, a newly-proposed national opposition bloc, would receive strong support from the people.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing, who expressed this view, also said he has no qualms with the proposed establishment of a new opposition pact as it is the democratic right of every Malaysian.
“Malaysia is a society which allows freedom of association. In regards to Gabungan Rakyat Saksama, once approved by the Registrar of Societies (ROS), it is free to take part in a general election. Only the voters in Malaysia will determine their acceptance,” the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.
He was asked to comment on a statement by Sarawak Reform Party (Reform) president Lina Soo in Sibu on Sunday that her party was teaming up with six other political parties to form a political alliance called ‘Gabungan Rakyat Saksama’ to take on the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th general election due to be called by June 2018.
Apart from Reform, the other parties are Sabah-based Parti Sejahtera Angkatan Perpaduan Sabah (Sapu), Pertubuhan Perpaduan Rakyat Kebangsaan Sabah (Perpaduan), Malaysia United People’s Party, Parti Kebangsaan Sabah (PKS), Sarawak-based Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) Baru and peninsula-based People’s Alternative Party.
Soo said the seven parties will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to formalise their alliance, which is to be called Saksama — an acronym for Sarawak, Sabah and Malaya. An application and symbol for the new coalition will then be filed with the ROS and upon approval, to the Election Commission that will enable Saksama candidates to contest elections under one common banner, she added.
She also said the proposed alliance would subscribe to the Malaysia Agreement 1963, with all component parties only fielding candidates in their respective regions as well as putting Sarawak, Sabah and peninsular Malaysia as equal partners in the Federation of Malaysia.
She also explained that to register as a political coalition, seven members or component parties are needed. Once approved, the proposed alliance would have at least one lawmaker in the person of STAR Sabah chief Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan — the elected representative for Bingkor.
“In the exercise of parliamentary practices, I wish them all the best,” quipped Masing, unperturbed by the potential alliance.
In the May 7 state polls, all 11 candidates from Reform lost their deposits. As for PBDS Baru, which contested in five seats, at least four of its candidates were said to have lost their deposits.