Support for PN will cost GPS votes in state polls, says Baru

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Baru Bian.

KUCHING: Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) presidential council member Baru Bian believes that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) could lose some votes in the state election due next year, because of its support for Perikatan Nasional (PN).

The Ba Kelalan assemblyman recalled that when Pakatan Rakyat was formed, PKR and DAP was criticised by GPS’ predecessor, the state Barisan Nasional, for being in bed together with PAS.

But, following the formation of the PN government with the support of GPS, Baru said a GPS leader was reported to have said that his party preferred to work with PAS rather than with DAP.

“Now, GPS is a coalition partner within Perikatan Nasional of which PAS is also a member. In a sense, GPS condemnation of our (PKR) partnership with PAS under Pakatan Rakyat has come back to haunt them. Such a coalition with PAS is deemed a political compromise by the majority of Sarawakians,” said Baru, who is the former Sarawak PKR chief.

“I am sure there are Sarawakians who feel that GPS has no principle in this regard. In the final analysis, Abang Johari’s support of PN could cause him some votes in the coming GE (general election),” he said, referring to GPS chairman and Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said this during the ‘The Sarawak State Election: What Lies Ahead?’ webinar organised by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute yesterday, which was moderated by its senior fellow Dr Lee Poh Onn  via Zoom.

However, Baru also expressed doubts as to whether Pakatan Harapan (PH) could make inroads during the polls due to the perception of Sarawakians towards the coalition.

Asked if PH would be able to erode GPS’ support, he said: “To answer this question one must ask whether PH is perceived as the main opposition bloc in Sarawak. Again the perception that these three parties (DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara) are West Malaysian political parties has some relevance to gauge the potential local support.

“In the light of such perception, I am of the opinion after being with PR and PH for the last few years, I think PH on their own cannot make a serious dent in GPS support,” said Baru, who had joined PSB on May 30 several months after his departure from PKR.

To another question, Baru said he agreed that there appears to be a ‘Dayak storm’ brewing in Sarawak today.

He said this could easily be gauged from social media posting and discussions, and this sentiment was also being stirred up by what was developing on the other side of the border in Kalimantan, Indonesia, where the Dayaks were seen to be very united.

“I believe this sentiment is real and I believe it’s because if we look at the history of Sarawak, the first Chief Minister we had was a Dayak in the person of Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan. It was a reasonable choice then as we all know that the Dayaks comprise the majority ethnic group in Sarawak.

“Even today the Dayak ethnic group remains the majority group in Sarawak accounting to about 45 percent of the 2.7 million population,” said Baru

“For this reason, the expectation today from the Dayaks is the same. The Dayaks feel that the first Dayak Chief Minister was removed unjustly in 1966 with the interference by the Federal Government then, due to him being a strong advocate of greater state autonomy.

“The educated and professional Dayaks are talking about this now and they feel that it’s the right time for a Dayak to be the Chief Minister again,” he said.

Having said that, Baru stressed his belief that a communal or race based political party was not able to prosper and survive in modern Sarawak or Malaysia in general.

He pointed out that while the spirit of Dayakism was first politically conjured following the formation of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) in 1983, it failed miserably despite being an attempt to unite Dayak leaders in one political party.

“So I believe a multi-racial party should be the way forward.

“PSB is a multi-racial party and has very good aims and objectives. With my entry and a few Dayak leaders in PSB, it’s our hope that we can make an inroad in the Dayak majority seats this time around,” he said, adding there are 56 Dayak-majority seats out of the 82 in the State Legislative Assembly.