KUCHING, Dec 4 — Political analyst Arnold Puyok today said it is too early to tell if Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) entry in Sarawak will affect the position of the state’s ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition.

“I consider PPBM’s latest move (to launch its Sarawak chapter last Saturday) as trying to test the water,” he said.

The deputy dean of postgraduate and research at the Faculty of Social Science of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) said how GPS will be affected will depend on PPBM’s policy position on the Sarawak issue and its ability to attract more local Bumiputra leaders.

PPBM chairman Tun Dr Mahathir launched the party’s Sarawak chapter in Bintulu on December 1.

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Puyok also believes PPMB’s appointment of local leaders for the Sarawak chapter will play an important role for it to be accepted in the state.

“Yes, without the influence of local leaders, it will be quite a task for PPBM to gain popularity,” he said.

On whether Dr Mahathir will be a factor in convincing Sarawakians to join PPBM, he said it was possible but not the main determinant.

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He also said the 14th general election demonstrated that Sarawak voters were prepared to depart from former loyalties.

“There is a real chance for national-based parties to gain acceptance in Sarawak but again this depends on their policy position and selection of local leaders,” Puyok said.

Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) president Dr Dusit Jaul believed that PPBM will affect GPS, especially Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) seats.

“This is because some of the country’s political heavyweights are behind PPBM,” he said.

He agreed with Puyok that PPBM has no influential local figures at the moment, but said this may change in next one to two years.

“Anyway, PPBM’s strong party principle may compensate for lack of strong local leaders,” he added.

Dusit asked Sarawakians to give Pakatan Harapan federal government, which has been in power for less than a year, a chance to administer the country including Sarawak.

“I guess it is still too early for Sarawakians to judge PH when compared to PBB which had been in power for more than 50 years.

“The bottom line is that many Sarawakians, especially the Dayaks don’t trust PBB anymore,” he claimed.

State rights activist Chan Chee Hiong said only Sarawakians can decide whether PPBM will be able to expand in future in the state.

He believed PPBM’s entry will affect PKR more than PBB.

He said PKR’s influence in Sarawak will be weakened because it will be forced to give away some of its “traditional” seats to PPBM to contest in the state and federal elections.

Chan, who is Sarawak For Sarawakians (S4S) leader, said the future of PPBM lies with the people of Sarawak and this will be determined in the coming state election.

He said the party may end up like the Islamist party PAS that has been in Sarawak for the past 20 years, but has yet to win any seats.

Chan believed that Sarawakians have some reservations of PPBM’s entry in Sarawak since its members are former Umno members.

He said Sarawakians are worried that issues faced in Sabah, such as allegations of immigrants being issued with Malaysian Identity Cards when Umno was in power, could be repeated in Sarawak.

“Whether PPBM has the same Umno’s spirit or not, I am sure the Sarawakian people have the wisdom and ability to make judgments,” he said, pointing out that Umno dared not to come to Sarawak because it was not sure of its acceptance.