KUCHING, July 17 — Sarawak International Trade and e-Commerce Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh paid a courtesy call to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg late this afternoon, but declined to reveal when his resignation from the state Cabinet will take effect.
He also declined to disclose if he had submitted his resignation letter at the courtesy call as he had promised two days ago.
“I am sorry I cannot reveal to you on all that. It is up to the chief minister to provide the information,” Wong said when asked by Malay Mail this evening.
“But my resignation is definite,” he said, adding that there would be no turning back.
He said he had a very good discussion with the chief minister, but declined to provide the details.
Wong said he and Abang Johari would remain the “best of friends”, although they might have political differences.
He said the chief minister helped him campaigning in Bawang Assan in the 1987 state election, adding that “since then we have been the best of friends”.
“We will continue to work hard and I, being president of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), will do everything to help the chief minister to serve people of Sarawak and the state,” he said.
Yesterday, Abang Johari Openg urged the people to respect Wong’s decision to step down from the Cabinet.
He had said it was Wong’s choice to step down and being an experienced politician, he knew what he had wanted to do.
Two days ago, Wong had told reporters that his decision to resign from the state Cabinet had been endorsed by the party’s annual delegates conference (ADC) in Sibu on July 13.
He had blamed “hostile relationship” with the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties as the reason for his decision to step down.
PSB, though not a component of GPS, is represented by Wong as part of the state government.
