MARUDI, March 20 — Datuk Abang Johari Openg issued a warning that he will not tolerate "termite’ parties bent on destroying the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

The Sarawak chief minister said such pests will cause the "house” to fall if it’s not stopped.

"So, we do not want any ‘termites’ in GPS. If you have termites, then the whole house will fall down. The moment the house falls, that will be the end of us,” he said when launching Dataran Marudi here.

"You cannot say you support only Abang Jo as chief minister but at the same time, you try to create problems in GPS. We cannot tolerate that,” he said, without elaborating.

In the past weeks, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) had repeatedly said that it supported him as the chief minister.

Although not a component of GPS, PBS is part of the state government and its president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh is the state minister of international trade and e-commerce while deputy president Datuk Jerip Susil is the assistant transport minister.

Many members from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), a component of GPS, have crossed over to PSB, including Sri Aman MP Datuk Masir Kujat.

Both PRS and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) have urged Abang Johari to expel Wong and Jerip from the state government.

The chief minister added many are saying that they are loyal to him, but stressed that he is not important.

"I am only here to continue the struggle of the people and the state. I am not important, but Sarawak is more important than me.

"You cannot be loyal to me. You must be loyal to Sarawak. That is the first thing you do. Then continue with the struggle with the policy to develop the state,” he said.

Abang Johari said he has been in politics through Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) for about 40 years.

"If I disagree with people who don’t agree with me, I don’t jump. I will remain in the party and continue my struggle with the rest in the party.

‘This is because party is more important than me. This is what it should be. When there was a change in the chief minister, from Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud to Pehin Seri Adenan Satem in 2014, I gave my support 100 per cent,” he said.

Abang Johari said when he became chief minister after the demise of Adenan, PBB leaders were solid behind him.

He said PBB, the backbone of GPS, is more important than its individual members.