Dr Sim (fifth right) seen handing over a mock cheque to the Matang SJK Chung Hua Batu 11 officials at the school yesterday. Also seen are Fadillah (fourth right) and other officials.
KUCHING (Nov 15): Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is only interested in forming a stable federal government and will not work exclusively with Umno after the conclusion of the 15th General Election (GE15), according to Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
Thus, he said, the claims by Democratic Action Party (DAP) that GPS will only work with Umno after the election is not true because GPS has always said that they are only interested in forming a government with whichever coalition that won the most seats.
“That is why we GPS decided to go on our own for this GE15 because we want to see who else gets the most vote after the election to form a government. GPS never said that it will only work with Umno after GE15,” he pointed out today.
He also said that there is a need for GPS to wait and see which other coalition wins the most seats because of the current political situation in Peninsular Malaysia.
That is because, he added, right now in Peninsular Malaysia, there are many political coalitions unlike in the past.
“The fact that a few coalitions are offering Sarawak the deputy prime minister post before the GE15 shows that they really want our support. Hence, we must wait until the GE15 is over then we decide who to work with,” he said.
According to him, there is a lot that GPS can do if the federal government is stable.
Besides that, Dr Sim said there are a lot of issues in the country at the moment that need attention and these issues can be solved if the country has a stable government.
“So I hope that voters in Sarawak will get it clear that we are not necessarily working with Umno after the GE15. Anyone can work with us if we feel that a stable federal government can be formed with them.
“We don’t want to see another three more prime ministers to lead the country in the next five years too (due to the political instability in the country),” he said.
Commenting on why members of the DAP have repeatedly said that GPS will work with Umno after GE15, Dr Sim opined that it is only a stunt by DAP to gain support for themselves.
This is because DAP knows the real story but chose to go out and confuse voters in Sarawak, he said.
“DAP knows that GPS fights for Sarawak issues while DAP is only fighting for issues at Peninsular Malaysia. That is why they say that we will only work with Umno after the election,” he said.
Earlier, Dr Sim handed over an education grant by the Sarawak government worth RM1 million to SJK Chung Hua Batu 11 in Matang.
The grant is to help the school construct its new school building.
Also present during the event was incumbent and GPS candidate for Petra Jaya Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also caretaker Works Minister.