MIRI, Oct 18 — Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Masing last night told leaders of the other three Barisan Nasional components here not to claim each other’s seats in the upcoming state election.
“We will stand on the principles of what is yours is yours, and what is mine is mine, and never shall cross the line,” he said at the party's 11th anniversary dinner here.
The state land development minister said this rule applied to the seat allocations and cannot be changed simply to suit individual party wishes and needs.
“The rule was made to strengthen BN, as a political organisation and not to weaken it. Therefore, any deviation from that rule cannot and must not be tolerated,” he said without elaborating.
The other three parties in Sarawak BN are Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).
In the 2011 Sarawak electios, PBB was allocated with 35 seats, SUPP 19, PRS nine and SPDP, eight.
The seat arrangement, however, will change with the inclusion of 11 new seats created in the re-delineation of electoral boundaries by the Election Commission (EC) last year.
On the 11 new seats, Masing hoped that his party will get at least two seats: Bukit Goram and Murum.
Masing also urged the state BN leadership to resolve problems regarding the position of two BN-friendly parties — Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (TERAS), a splinter of SPDP, and United People's Party (UPP), a breakaway group of SUPP.
Though they are not component parties of the state BN, their leaders are state ministers.
Masing said TERAS is claiming seats belonging to SPDP while UPP is also eyeing seats traditionally contested by SUPP.
“Until and unless we solve this confusion soon, the State BN may face problems in some of the seats,” he said, warning that PRS does not want SPDP and SUPP to be short changed in solving the confusion.
Sarawak must hold a state election no later than September next year.
