Professor James Chin.
KUCHING: The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state ruling coalition is concentrating on the next state election rather than federal politics, opines political analyst Professor James Chin.
Chin, a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania in Australia, said that GPS most likely would not join the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition formally but prefer to be an ally to it.
“GPS stands for ‘Sarawak First’ so if they join (the coalition), they will be accused of selling out so it’s unlikely (for them to do so),” said Chin when contacted by The Borneo Post today.
He was commenting on a statement on Sunday stating that all MPs from GPS, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Barisan Nasional (BN), PAS, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) had declared their support for the formation of PN.
Chin also opined that GPS weakest link for the next state election were Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).
“Both (SUPP and PRS) are strong state nationalist parties and they are unlikely to support GPS joining the PN coalition.”